Nine more First Nations file court challenges to Pacific Link pipeline - National Post

Copy URL Facebook Linked In X (Twitter) Loading account options Sign In Manage Account Close account menu Sign Out Prime Minister Mark Carney attends a First Nations and First Ministers meeting in Ottawa, October 26, 2026. (Blair Gable / Postmedia) By Jordan Gowling November 2, 2026 at 2:24 p.m. Last Updated: November 2, 2026 at 8:52 p.m. OTTAWA — Nine more First Nations have filed court challenges against the federal government’s decision to designate the West Coast pipeline a project of national interest under Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act.

First Nations argue cabinet did not discharge its duty to consult and provide adequate accommodation, before deciding to fast-track the Pacific Link pipeline on Oct. 1.

The nine applicants from B.C. also argue the federal government erred by failing to exercise its powers under the BCA consistently with the statutory imperatives arising from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA), which was passed by Parliament in 2021.

“This project being pre-approved does not meet the standard not only of free, prior, and informed consent, but the minimum standard of consultation,” said Terry Teegee, regional chief of the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, during a press conference in Richmond, B.C., on Monday.

“We are very concerned about not only this project but other projects, and other First Nations should all be concerned across this country,” he added.

The legal challenges were filed in Federal Court last week, bringing the total number of lawsuits against Pacific Link’s national interest designation to 10, after Cold Lake First Nation in Alberta was the first to file on Oct. 8.

The nine applicants include First Nations located along the proposed pipeline and tanker shipping routes, as well as those not geographically located close the pipeline, but argue their fishing rights and livelihood rely on Fraser River salmon.

The Pacific Pipeline is the first project to be designated as a project of national interest under the government’s new major projects legislation. The legislation allows Cabinet to give projects in the national interest a fast-tracked regulatory process.

The proposed route will run 1,200 kilometres from Bruderheim, Alta., to a proposed large-tanker port in Delta, B.C.

The newly formed Major Projects Office undertook consultations with over 130 Indigenous communities between July 3 to Sept. 18, before the designation was announced.

The MPO will begin its review of the project in early 2027, with public hearings held by the commission of the Canada Energy Regulator. The MPO is expected to finalize a conditions document by Sept. 1, 2027.

The applicants argue the consultation process was inadequate and took place during the busy summer months.

“We were reached out to be engaged in late July with the deadline, and my community, we had a wildfire right above our community where it was two, five kilometers away and the letters came in,” said St’át’imc Chiefs Council Chairperson Chief Justin Kane.

Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline has so far agreed to take a minority 10 per cent private stake in the development, the publicly owned Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission is also a proponent. The Trans Mountain Corporation is leading the project.

Indigenous communities have been offered a 10 per-cent ownership stake in the pipeline project. The pipeline, once completed, is expected to generate over $20 billion in GDP per year and $100 billion in government revenue by 2060.

Government officials have acknowledged and are prepared for potential court challenges. Last week, Justice Minister Sean Fraser said Bill C-5 respects First Nations’ rights.

“We believe that we’ve met the constitutional obligations that we have to act within the spheres of authorities that we have, while respecting importantly the rights of First Nations communities and Indigenous rights holders more broadly,” said Fraser, before a caucus meeting on Oct. 28. “To the extent that there are concerns, my hope is that we can work through them through negotiation.”

Teegee said the prime minister should be held accountable for taking advantage of the uncertainty of a trade war with the U.S. to pass Bill C-5 and its successor, Bill C-39, which is currently being studied by a legislative committee.

“It’s a process that Prime Minister Carney should be called out for,” he said. “He is utilizing taking advantage of a crisis for a bill that they’ve always wanted to pass, it’s nothing new.”

Robert Banks Terminal 2, a proposed project in Delta, B.C., that would increase the Port of Vancouver’s container capacity by approximately 50 per cent, was also designated a project of national interest by the federal government last Friday.

Robert Banks is the endpoint of the proposed Pacific Link pipeline.

“I can only project that this is just going to heat up more and more and more as more massive projects are approved without proper consultation with First Nations people, as was the port and the pipeline, and without any recognition of the real needs of reconciliation, this is not ending today,” said Hugh Baker, a political executive at the First Nations Summit.

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'We are very very clear. We are following the evidence as it becomes available,' said Chief Myron Demkiw on Monday