Carney to meet Coastal First Nations in B.C. to discuss major projects

Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to northern B.C. to meet Coastal First Nations on Tuesday before departing on an overseas trip, and a government official said the meeting will cover major regional projects and marine conservation.

Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to northern British Columbia to meet with Coastal First Nations before departing on an overseas trip, a government official told CBC News. The official said the meeting is expected to cover major projects in the region and how federal and Indigenous partners can build them sustainably and in partnership. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, Housing Minister Gregor Robertson and B.C. Liberal MP Wade Grant will join the visit. Prince Rupert is near the planned Ksi Lisims LNG site, which the government has prioritized for fast-track permitting. What is known: - Carney is scheduled to meet Coastal First Nations in northern B.C. on Tuesday and will depart late Monday for an eight-day trip that includes stops in China, Qatar and the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. - A government official said topics expected to be discussed include major regional projects, marine conservation, ocean protection and empowering Indigenous communities to lead those efforts. - Ministers Tim Hodgson and Gregor Robertson and B.C. Liberal MP Wade Grant are accompanying Carney on the visit. - The planned Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility near Prince Rupert is among projects earmarked for fast-track permitting; the project is being developed in partnership with the Nisga'a Nation and faces separate legal challenges from other First Nations. - Coastal First Nations, a group of nine First Nations in the region, have publicly opposed a possible oil pipeline to B.C.'s north coast, while a memorandum of understanding between Ottawa and Alberta includes a path forward for that pipeline and lifting a tanker ban. - Coastal First Nations have said the pipeline project will never happen. Summary: The meeting brings federal leaders and regional Indigenous representatives together to discuss large resource projects and coastal conservation and to identify common priorities. Carney will then begin an eight-day international trip; further outcomes from the B.C. meeting were not announced.