Would you like to own the pipe and easement on your land?

Oil is finally flowing through the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMX).

With a final price tag over $34 billion, the new pipeline came in 500 per cent over budget and 5 years later than originally planned.

The federal government purchased the pipe in 2018… and now needs to sell it.

The buyer is expected to be a consortium of First Nations governments, financed by tax-payers via loan guarantees from Ottawa.

This is a policy direction based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and actively lobbied for by energy transport leaders like Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel.

So what does this mean for pipeline landowners?

It most likely means the easements on your property will be partly or wholly owned by First Nations governments and related groups.

Which in turn means management of these Right of Ways will be subject to Indigenous political agendas... in such areas as environment and heritage (artifacts).

Landowners Want In

This could result in more integrity digs with more Indigenous Monitors onsite.

As CAEPLA has warned for years, wide open access for Indigenous Monitors means any bone fragment, arrowhead or endangered species that is found (or “found”) could result in a shutdown of the affected farm or ranch.

If for instance the existence of a burial ground is suspected, a land-owner could face expropriation of a portion of their land, as was learned by the owner of a Manitoba campground we told you about in the February 2024 edition of the Pipeline Observer newsletter.

When First Nations groups own the pipe and the easement on your property, it’s not difficult to detect the potential for problems.

Add to this the fact that Reconciliation was officially included in the mandate of the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) in 2019… and the umpire is de facto playing for the other team.

What can you do about this?

CAEPLA’s slogan has always been Landowners Want In!’

And landowners need to get in on owning the pipe on their property that government and industry are looking to transfer to First Nations groups.

Landowners Deserve Financing

Rather than be excluded from a lucrative, no-risk investment opportunity in their own backyards, pipeline landowners should be eligible for the same financing First Nations groups are.

Namely the same loan guarantees – basically having the government co-sign a loan that will be paid back out of revenues over the coming decades.

Landowners should be entitled to financing for a percentage of equity at least equivalent to the percentage of the pipe that runs through their land.

This would include voting shares to ensure a say in the management of the easement on their property as well.

Like any other minority group, pipeline landowners deserve the same inclusion, equity, and consideration from government as First Nations groups do.

What do you think?

Are you willing to support CAEPLA in our bid to include all pipeline landowners in the government-financed pipeline investment bonanza coming to Canada?

Take our Survey HERE

 

Pipeline Observer

About

Landowner-driven, CAEPLA advocates on behalf of farmers, ranchers, and other rural landowners to promote safety and environmental protection through respect for your property rights.