Former Conservative federal cabinet minister Jim Prentice is shown at the Canadian American Business Council during an interview in Ottawa on Monday, November 19, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand
March 05, 2014 - 10:08 AM
VANCOUVER - Former Conservative Indian Affairs minister Jim Prentice has been tapped to try and broker deals between Northern Gateway and First Nations opposed to the multibillion-dollar pipeline through British Columbia and Alberta.
Prentice says he believes the project can bring jobs, as well as economic and educational opportunities to First Nations communities, while protecting the environment.
He says Calgary-based Enbridge (TSX:ENB) already has 26 equity agreements in place with aboriginal communities along the 1,200-kilometre pipeline route.
Prentice was the federal minister who negotiated the residential schools settlement in 2006.
A joint federal review panel recommended approval of the proposed pipeline in December and a final decision by the federal government is pending.
The project to bring Alberta oil to the West Coast for export has faced opposition in B.C. from environmental groups and from many First Nations who have turned to the Federal Court in an attempt to stop it from going ahead.
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News from © The Canadian Press, 2014