Three prominent First Nations organizations are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to cancel the regulatory reviews of three major oilsands pipelines as a step towards reconciliation between Canada and First Nations.

“First Nations and Canada have a lot of work to do regarding measures needed to finally put us all on the path of reconciliation and partnership,” the joint letter to Trudeau, signed by the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, states.

“We focus here on one such measure — the overhaul of the review and assessment process for tar sands export pipelines.”

Earlier this week, Trudeau was on hand as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada unveiled its final report on the Indian Residential Schools. During the closing ceremony, Trudeau gave his word to “renew and respect” Canada’s relationship with indigenous peoples in the country.

“Our First Nations in British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec call for the establishment of a new pipeline review and assessment process, to be developed and implemented in collaboration with First Nations, that will enable a thorough and objective environmental assessment of these pipelines,” the letter adds.

The three pipeline projects at issue in the letter are KinderMorgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline, TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline and Enbridge’s Line 3, all of which are currently under review by the National Energy Board (NEB), Canada’s federal pipeline regulator.

Trudeau has promised to overhaul the NEB to ensure more thorough assessments of proposed pipelines (including a climate test), but stopped short of making this a requirement for projects currently under review.

According to Canada’s new Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr, no proponent of a pipeline project under review right now will be required “to go back to square one.”

“At a time when our First Nations are already suffering major climate change related impacts to their ways of life, the full consideration of climate change impacts has to be a major focus of any new review and assessment process for the pipelines,” the letter states.

“Our Indigenous laws tell us that actions have consequences. Mother Earth is giving us signs that she is out of balance. Climate change is one of these signs.”

The group also accused the NEB of being an “industry-captured ‘rubber stamper.’" They raised concerns about an apparent revolving door between the energy industry and the regulator.

Last August, energy consultant Steven Kelly was appointed to the board by the Harper government, despite having been hired by Kinder Morgan two years prior to conduct an economic analysis of the Trans Mountain pipeline project in B.C.

“The NEB's conflict of interest issues need to be urgently resolved,” the letter concludes.

This is the second letter the Prime Minister has received this month calling on him to intervene in a pipeline project. Last week, eighty organizations in Quebec and Ontario including Greenpeace and Equiterre and two First Nations demanded Trudeau stop the recently reopened Line 9 pipeline.

“We urge the federal government to halt the Line 9 project until it can be subjected to a subsequent review under more robust, transparent, and democratic conditions,” the December 9th letter states.

“It is our strongly-held conviction that the prior government’s support for the NEB structure and review process has resulted in an erroneous decision that threatens communities, water sources, local ecosystems, and the planet,” the letter adds.

Image Credit: US State Department

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The Harper government is sending several of its cabinet ministers and bureaucrats to BC starting next week to try and appease opponents of its plans to build oil pipelines to the West Coast.

Chris Hall writes for CBC News, that "Prime Minister Stephen Harper is signalling he intends to make progress on proposals to connect Alberta's oilsands with ports in British Columbia and the lucrative Asian markets beyond."

According to Hall, this initiative is in response to a report last month from Douglas Eyford, Harper's special pipelines representative in British Columbia, who indicated that negotiations with First Nations on pipelines weren't going well.

Eyford's report will not be made public, but sources told CBC News that "Eyford urged the federal government take the lead role in dealing with Indian bands on both the Gateway project and the proposed expansion of Kinder Morgan's Trans-Mountain pipeline."

First Nations leaders are to meet with Harper's delegation on September 23, in Vancouver. The delegation will include deputy ministers from Aboriginal Affairs, Natural Resources, Environment and other departments with direct oversight of the proposed pipeline projects.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, said the request to meet came on Thursday, with no preamble or agenda, and no clue as to what Ottawa's going to put on the table.

"I have a sinking feeling that perhaps they're covering their backsides in terms of a consultation record,'' Phillip said in a Vancouver interview. "And looking towards laying the groundwork that will be necessary when the decision is finally made by Prime Minister Harper and the cabinet, regardless of what the joint review panel comes forward with in terms of an approval or a rejection of these proposed projects.''

Other key ministers have also been directed by Harper to promote the pipeline projects in BC, starting Monday. They include Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt, who will be in the province all week. Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq are reportedly planning trips to BC before Thanksgiving.

All of the above have requested to meet with the First Nations, according to Phillip. In addition, Premier Christy Clark also wrote to request a sit-down with them.

Phillips said he found it "very disturbing" that there was such "an urgency attached to both letters." He noted that this is the first the chiefs have heard from politicians in months.

Federal sources told CBC that "the objective is to work proactively to convince First Nations, community groups, and B.C.'s government that moving oil through the province is good for the economy, and good for them."

This new conciliatory approach from the federal Conservatives is the latest in a fall campaign to help achieve Harper's vision of Canada as an energy superpower by unlocking the country's oil deposits in Alberta for international trade.

On another front, Harper wrote a letter in late August to US President Obama, proposing joint standards for reduced greenhouse gas emissions in both countries in return for approval of the proposed $7-billion Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to refineries on the Gulf Coast.

Ottawa has also been trying to court BC Premier Clark's approval on the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline. Clark rejected the project in May, but has since outlined new conditions for its approval, including improved cleanup and prevention methods for oil spills and a larger share of revenues for the province. The federal government has responded to some of the demands, announcing new safety regulations for oil tankers and higher corporate liability for offshore oil spills.

But the upcoming meeting shows that Harper still sees First Nations opposition to the pipelines as one of his most significant obstacles. Hall writes that federal sources "acknowledge that Enbridge did a poor job in dealing with bands along the proposed [Northern] Gateway route," and at least three First Nations oppose US-based Kinder Morgan's proposal to triple the capacity of its Trans-Mountain pipeline from Alberta to Vancouver.

The Coldwater Indian Band will be going to court in October seeking a judicial order that would prevent Ottawa approving the expansion without their consent. Coldwater Chief Harold Aljam said that he has met with Eyford, but no one from the federal government has contacted them.

What the September 23 meeting between Harper's delegation and First Nations leaders will achieve has yet to be seen. But as Hall points out, for First Nations "the fear is the Harper government intends to push through both pipeline proposals no matter what."

Image Credit: Prime Minister's Office / Flickr

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