Geoff Russ: First Nations let down by David Eby's anti-oil dogma
Attorney General Sean Fraser jumped into a vat of hot water last week when he asserted that First Nations do not have final veto over new resource projects.
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While he swiftly apologized for causing offence with his blunt, but admittedly truthful, statement, the controversy gave cover to Canada's real anti-development culprits: David Eby and his NDP government in British Columbia.
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Anybody claiming or celebrating that First Nations are some sort of obstacle to resource development is ignorant, ideological, or both. Indigenous communities and leaders are among the most enthusiastic backers of natural gas facilities and oil pipelines in B.C., and they are as badly let down by this provincial government as anybody else.
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The NDP have been in power since 2017, and have long abandoned any pretence of vision, direction, or adaptability, which has resulted in real economic and social harm. This tendency was on display again last week when Eby and his ministers refused to endorse another oil pipeline to the coast at a meeting of the premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
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Until 2025, resource development had been a fraught and fiery topic in Canada. Debates over costs, consultations, and climate goals slowed down and killed major projects like Energy East, Northern Gateway, and more.
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Then U.S. President Donald Trump embarked on his quest to use tariffs to remake the global commercial order and threatened to escalate a trade war against Canada. Suddenly, every government in Canada, conservative or progressive, began admitting or alluding to the necessity of diversifying the trade of Canadian energy, our single largest export.
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Even Quebec Premier François Legault signalled that he was open to the possibility of building new natural gas facilities and pipelines in the province. It is rare that Alberta, the federal government, and Quebec agree on energy, and it would be a historic and actionable opportunity if the B.C. NDP were not so determined to scuttle it.
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A quick overview of the B.C. NDP's anti-pipeline history will make it very clear that this government has no love or desire for such undertakings.
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Under Eby's predecessor John Horgan, the B.C. NDP fought tooth and nail to stop the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Despite the clear economic, social, and political advantages of expanding TMX, the NDP had to be crushed in the courts in 2020 before waving the white flag.
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