What's 'meaningful consultation?' Squamish Nation, Indigenous lawyer weigh in on Trans Mountain's future

If the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project is to proceed, meaningful consultation with First Nationswill need to involve more Indigenous communitiesthan just those who were involved in the court decision.

And thatlikely means a substantial delay to the project,according to Merle Alexander, an Indigenous resource lawyer with MillerTiterleand a member of theTs'msyanNation fromKitasooon B.C.'sNorth Coast.

"I suspect, and my experience was, that every First Nation experienced the same failure of consultation," he said.

Alexander worked with First Nations who were involved in the court ruling and those who had signed impact benefit agreements.

"I've seen communities struggle with the complexity of the project from both sides," he told Stephen Quinn, the host ofCBC'sThe Early Edition.

Any future consultation would have to include a "real and genuine sustained effort" with all the First Nations impacted by the project, not just those who appealed the Trans Mountain expansion in court, Alexander said.

"We're talking about a very substantial delay on the project."

The Federal Court of Appeal stopped the pipeline expansion in its tracks last week, ruling Ottawa failed to adequately consult with affectedIndigenous communities.

Despite the ruling, the federal government says it's still committed to the controversial project Canada now owns.

New negotiations

Khelsilem, who also goes by the name Dustin Rivers, is a spokesperson for theSquamishNation.

"I'm curious to know ...how many First Nations are going to say, 'actually, we want out of what we signed before with Kinder Morgan, and we want a new negotiation with the federal government, so that given the court ruling, we actually want to be consulted properly as well,'"Khelsilemsaid.

TheSquamishNation was one of the Indigenous communitiesinvolved in the federal ruling.

"Through all the work that we did to participate, a lot of our concerns were not addressed, a lot of our questions weren't answered,and the final report didn't actually reflect anything that we had told them,"Khelsilemsaid.

Khelsilem said questions and concerns about the impact of a potential spill in the inlet and details about the product being shipped across First Nation territory were not addressed.

"Going forward, a lot of those questions need to be answered," he said.

"There is a lot of information that needs to be ascertained."

With files from The Early Edition.

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