An Indigenous-led initiative is still pursuing ownership of the Trans Mountain pipeline, in spite of the project's ballooning price tag.
"We are not going away, just because it's $30.9 billion. We are entering into the early stages of negotiations," said Stephen Mason, managing director of Project Reconciliation, a Calgary-based group that is working to facilitate the purchase of a major equity stake in the pipeline for the 129 First Nations along the route.
The federal government has indicated it does not wish to be the long-term owner of the pipeline, and has said it is open to the idea of Indigenous ownership. Mason did not say what his group is prepared to bid for a stake in the pipeline, but he said the ultimate selling price will only be what a buyer is willing to pay and will therefore reflect the anticipated return on investment.
An equity stake that large in a major piece of energy infrastructure in this country would be precedent-setting for Indigenous communities. By contrast, the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which is also currently under construction, has option agreements in place with 16 Indigenous communities for a 10 per cent equity stake.
"That corridor is a valuable corridor to move what will be the next generation of energy, whether it be in the form of ammonia or pure hydrogen. That corridor is very expensive real estate," Mason said.
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