Kenney warns cancelled energy projects stand in the way of Indigenous prosperity

Advertisement

Advertise with us

CALGARY - A $1-billion fund established last year to support Indigenous participation in major projects won't have any projects to back if the circumstances that led to the cancelling of the Frontier oilsands mining project this week continue, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney warned on Wednesday.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Monthly Digital Subscription

$1 per week for 24 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $4 plus GST every four weeks. Offer only available to new and qualified returning subscribers. Cancel any time.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/02/2020 (1829 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY – A $1-billion fund established last year to support Indigenous participation in major projects won’t have any projects to back if the circumstances that led to the cancelling of the Frontier oilsands mining project this week continue, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney warned on Wednesday.

In a speech at the Indigenous Participation in Major Projects conference in Calgary that heavily criticized “green left urban militants,” Kenney insisted his government is the one that has the best interests of First Nations at heart because it supports building major energy projects.

He blamed uncertainty created by environmental activists for the decision by Teck Resources Ltd. last Sunday to withdraw its application for the $20-billion oilsands mine, just days before the federal government was expected to announce a ruling on whether or not it could proceed.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney delivers remarks at the Indigenous Participation in Major Projects conference in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney delivers remarks at the Indigenous Participation in Major Projects conference in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

“We can create greater access to capital but if the folks that succeeded in shutting down Teck continue, there won’t be deals to be made,” Kenney said. “There won’t be opportunities or jobs to be created.”

He added: “I think here in Alberta we can point the way forward because we understand in Alberta that poverty is not the path to reconciliation.”

Teck CEO Don Lindsay said Monday that tensions over Indigenous rights, climate change and resource development that led to ongoing rail blockades helped his company decide there was “no constructive path forward” for the project.

The Vancouver-based company has taken a $1.13-billion writedown on Frontier, which was expected to create 7,000 construction jobs, 2,500 operating jobs and about $12 billion in federal income and capital taxes, but was also expected to produce about four million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year over 40 years.

The future and economic viability of Frontier was uncertain enough that analysts did not factor it into their valuation of the company.

Critics say the mine, designed to produce 260,000 barrels of oil a day, wouldn’t have been profitable unless North American oil prices were much higher, although Teck said new technologies would have been employed to bring down costs.

Kenney announced Wednesday that the Woodland Cree First Nation in northwest Alberta will receive a $187,688 grant — the first approved under the $10-million Indigenous Litigation Fund announced last year — to intervene in support of Alberta’s constitutional challenge of the federal government’s Bill C-69, which revamped the way major infrastructure projects win regulatory approval.

Blood Tribe Chief Roy Fox, chairman of the Indian Resource Council that sponsored the conference, praised the province for its programs to help Indigenous projects get off the ground and criticized federal bureaucrats who have stood in the way of economic development opportunities in the past.

“Now is the time to assert our political and business leadership capabilities and reduce the poverty that plagues many of those that rely on us,” he said.

Chief Ouray Clark Crowfoot of the Siksika Nation said most Indigenous investment in the oil and gas sector has been in the upstream production sector and said the next logical step is to look at midstream and downstream assets like pipelines and refineries.

In the provincial throne speech on Tuesday, Kenney’s government said it is prepared to invest directly in the resource industry if that’s what it takes to boost Alberta’s wellspring industry.

But he didn’t mention the pledge in his speech at the conference and left without speaking to reporters.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TECK)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2020.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

What to know about Hollywood icon Gene Hackman's and his wife's deaths

Jesse Bedayn And Jacques Billeaud, The Associated Press 9 minute read Preview

What to know about Hollywood icon Gene Hackman's and his wife's deaths

Jesse Bedayn And Jacques Billeaud, The Associated Press 9 minute read Yesterday at 6:15 AM UTC

Investigators on Friday pored over evidence found around the partially mummified bodies of Oscar-winner Gene Hackman and his wife at their New Mexico home as officials awaited the results of autopsies.

A maintenance worker reported the deaths of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, on Wednesday, according to a Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office search warrant affidavit. Investigators are still working to determine what caused the deaths, though they said they don't suspect foul play.

Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in which he played an array of heroes and villains in films including “The French Connection,” “Hoosiers” and “Superman” from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.

What we know about the deaths

Read
Yesterday at 6:15 AM UTC
Law enforcement officials talk outside the home of actor Gene Hackman on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their wife were found dead in the home a day earlier. (AP Photo/Roberto Rosales)

Zelenskyy leaves White House without signing minerals deal after Oval Office blowup

Will Weissert, Zeke Miller And Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press 15 minute read Preview

Zelenskyy leaves White House without signing minerals deal after Oval Office blowup

Will Weissert, Zeke Miller And Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press 15 minute read Yesterday at 5:02 AM UTC

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for being “disrespectful” Friday in an extraordinary Oval Office meeting, then abruptly called off the signing of a minerals deal that Trump said would have moved Ukraine closer to ending its war with Russia.

The astonishing turn of events could scramble affairs in Europe and around the globe. During his visit with Trump, Zelenskyy was expected to sign the deal allowing the U.S. greater access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals and hold a joint news conference, but that plan was scrapped after the heated engagement between the leaders in front of the news media.

It's unclear what the blowup could mean for the deal that Trump insisted was essential to repay the U.S. for the more than $180 billion in American aid sent to Kyiv since the start of the war. And it remains to be seen what, if anything, Trump wants Zelenskyy to do to get the deal back on track.

The Ukrainian leader was asked to leave t

Read
Yesterday at 5:02 AM UTC
President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov)

Gretzky remains silent as wife Janet joins Trump, Orr in hockey legend's defence

The Canadian Press 8 minute read Preview

Gretzky remains silent as wife Janet joins Trump, Orr in hockey legend's defence

The Canadian Press 8 minute read Thursday, Feb 27, 2025

The wife of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky says it has

Read
Thursday, Feb 27, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump has come to Wayne Gretzky's defence amid criticism from Canadians regarding the hockey legend's support of Trump and the United States. Gretzky and his wife Janet Jones arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP

83-year-old attacked in Winnipeg while out getting milk

Scott Billeck 3 minute read Thursday, Feb 27, 2025

The son of an 83-year-old woman, who was assaulted while she walked to a store to get milk Tuesday afternoon, is incensed.

Tesla dealer wants Manitobans to know he’s Nott in business with Elon Musk

Tyler Searle 10 minute read Preview

Tesla dealer wants Manitobans to know he’s Nott in business with Elon Musk

Tyler Searle 10 minute read Thursday, Feb 27, 2025

A Winnipeg car dealership that has long been the leading source for Tesla vehicles in Manitoba is distancing itself from the company owned by Elon Musk.

Nott Autocorp has remained the province’s primary provider of Tesla vehicles since 2012. This week, it released a public statement outlining its relationship with the Texas-based automaker.

“Nott Autocorp is a proud, locally owned Métis family business that has been serving Canadians with integrity and passion for decades. We want to clarify that we are not a Tesla franchisee or affiliate,” the statement said.

“Instead, we specialize in offering Canadian-titled, pre-owned Teslas... As a proudly Canadian business, we stand behind our community, local entrepreneurs, and fellow Canadians, supporting a strong and independent marketplace.”

Read
Thursday, Feb 27, 2025
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES Trevor Nott, owner of Nott Autocorp, next to a Tesla in his showroom in 2022. Nott Autocorp released a statement on social media clarifying that — while it sells many of the electric car maker’s vehicles — it is not a franchisee and has no formal relationship with the company.

Opinion: Step up at home to improve mood with Mom

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read Thursday, Dec 26, 2024

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: When I was a bratty kid, I used to hate the days after Christmas. My single mom would go out to her cleaning jobs and call me spoiled and ungrateful for watching TV instead of playing with the new presents I got from my grandparents.

I would mope around for days, just watching TV. Then my mom would slap down a piece of paper and tell me to start making a list of new year’s resolutions to improve my lazy self. My first one was always “Move out of this house.”

Well, times have changed. I’m unemployed and back in Winnipeg looking for a temporary place to stay while searching for a new job here or anywhere. Mom is hinting she wants me to get that job fast and move out ASAP. What can I do to convince her to let me stay here in peace until I find a decent job and get settled into a new place?

I can’t leave here yet or I’ll be out on the streets. Mom is cranky about it, but I do love her and know she grudgingly enjoys my company, as it can be lonely for her. She