Dale Swampy, founder of the National Coalition of Chiefs. Photograph for Canadian Energy Centre

From the Canadian Energy Centre

By Deborah Jaremko

National Coalition of Chiefs founder Dale Swampy says Canada needs a more sustainable strategy for reducing emissions

The head of the National Coalition of Chiefs (NCC) says Ottawa’s proposed oil and gas emissions cap couldn’t come at a worse time for Indigenous communities.

Dale Swampy says the cap threatens the combined prospect of higher costs for fuel and groceries, along with fewer economic opportunities like jobs and revenues from involvement in energy projects.   

“Any small fluctuation in the economy is affected on our communities tenfold because we rely so much on basic necessities. And those are going to be the products that increase in price significantly because of this,” says Swampy, who founded the NCC in 2016 to fight poverty through partnerships with the natural resource sector.

He says that of particular concern is the price of fuel, which will skyrocket under the emissions cap because it will force reduced Canadian oil and gas production.

Analysis by S&P Global found that meeting the cap’s requirements would require a production cut of over one million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in 2030, and 2.1 million boe/d in 2035.

“Production gets reduced, and the cost of fuel goes up,” Swampy says.

“Our concern is that everything that has to do with both fuel for transportation and fuel to heat our homes is amplified on First Nation communities because we live in rural Canada. We live in isolated communities, and it costs much more for us to operate our daily lives because we have to travel much further than anybody in a metropolitan area. So, it’s going to impact us greatly.”

Indigenous communities are already stretched financially, he says.

“What you could buy in 2019 terms of meat and produce is almost double now, and even though the inflation rate is trending downwards, we still haven’t gotten over the impact of what it costs for a bag of groceries these days,” Swampy says.

“In our communities, more than half are under the age of 21, so there’s a lot of bigger families out there struggling to just get food on the table.”

The frustrating timing of the cap is that it comes amid a rising tide of Indigenous involvement in Canadian oil and gas. Since 2022, more than 75 Indigenous communities in Alberta and B.C. have agreed to become part owners of energy projects.

Three major projects – the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion, Coastal GasLink Pipeline and LNG Canada export terminal – together have spent more than $11 billion with Indigenous and local businesses.

“We’re at a turning point right now. There’s a real drive towards getting us involved in equity opportunities, employment opportunities, and contracting opportunities,” Swampy says.

“Everybody who didn’t talk to us in the past is coming to our front door and saying, ‘Do you want to work with us?’ It couldn’t come at a worse time when we have this opportunity. The emissions cap is going to reduce the amount of activity, and it’s going to reduce the amount of investment,” he says.

“We’re part of that industry now. We’re entrenched in it now, and we have to support it in order to support our people that work in this industry.”

Economic growth, and more time, is needed to fund development of low emissions energy sources without ruining the economy, he says.

“I think we need more consultation. We’d like to see them go back to the table and try to incorporate more of a sustainable strategy for emission reductions,” Swampy says.

“We’re the only country in the world that’s actually incorporating this type of legislation. Do you think the rest of the world is going to do this type of thing? No, they’re going to eat our lunch. They’re going to replace the production that we give up, they’re going to excel in the economy because of it, and they won’t talk about significant emission reduction initiatives.”

Alberta’s government is taking swift action that will curb illegal border activities and strengthen the nation’s border security. New measures will immediately crack down on illegal migrants and drug trafficking across the border.

“We cannot take concerns about border security lightly. By establishing this new team of sheriffs at our southern border, we are actively working to address security concerns and stop the criminals whose activities are destroying lives on both sides of the border.”

A new Interdiction Patrol Team (IPT) within the Alberta Sheriffs will crack down on drug smuggling, gun trafficking and other illegal activities occurring along Alberta’s 298-kilometre international boundary. IPT will be supported by:

• 51 uniformed officers equipped with carbine rifles (weapons for tactical operations);
• 10 support staff, including dispatchers and analysts;
• four drug patrol dogs, critical to ensure reasonable suspicion to search vehicles;
• 10 cold weather surveillance drones that can operate in high winds with dedicated pilots; and
• four narcotics analyzers to test for illicit drugs.

This team will patrol to detect and intercept illicit drugs, illegal firearms and unlawful attempts at illegal international border crossing.

Alberta’s government will also create a two kilometre-deep critical border zone, deemed critical infrastructure, to enable the sheriffs to arrest individuals found attempting to cross the border illegally or attempting to traffic illegal drugs or weapons, without needing a warrant. This critical border zone will be created by amending regulations under the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act. This will not apply to people travelling legally along Alberta highways and roads.

“Alberta’s government is ramping up border enforcement. We have long recognized the need for additional capacity to patrol Alberta’s vulnerable international borders, where any amount of illegal activity is too much. I look forward to working with our partners in law enforcement and across government as we send a clear message to prospective offenders that criminal activity, such as fentanyl trafficking, will not be tolerated at our borders or anywhere else in our province.”

“Stemming illegal cross-border activities at the source prevents their spread to the rest of the province later on, and the Alberta Sheriffs are proud to step up and take on this important role.”

“Regardless of what uniform we wear, or what agency we represent, law enforcement from across the province will aggressively target drug dealers, disrupt the fentanyl trade and keep our communities safe.”