Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to northern B.C. to meet with Coastal First Nations before leaving on his trip to China, a government official confirmed to CBC News.
The official, speaking on the condition that they not be named, said they expect the meeting to cover a number of subjects, including major projects underway in the region and how the federal government and Indigenous communities can ensure projects are built “sustainably and in partnership.”
Carney is departing late Monday and will meet with Coastal First Nations on Tuesday. The official said the government’s focus will be on common priorities, including marine conservation, ocean protection and empowering Indigenous communities to lead those efforts.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, Housing Minister Gregor Robertson and B.C. Liberal MP Wade Grant will join Carney on the visit.
Carney is then scheduled to leave for an eight-day trip that will include stops in China, Qatar and Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum.
Prince Rupert is near the site of the planned Ksi Lisims liquified natural gas (LNG) facility in northern B.C., which is among the major projects that the federal government has earmarked for fast-track permitting and approval.
That facility, which has also been prioritized by the B.C. government, would export 12 million tonnes of LNG per year, targeting Asian markets.
The project is being developed in partnership with the Nisga’a Nation, but is facing separate legal challenges from other First Nations.
Coastal First Nations, a group of nine First Nations in the region, have expressed strong opposition to a possible oil pipeline to the north coast of B.C.
The memorandum of understanding between Ottawa and Alberta, which Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed late last year, includes a path forward for that possible pipeline and the lifting of an oil tanker ban along B.C.’s north coast.
But Coastal First Nations have said the pipeline project will never happen.
