Karen Ogen: First Nations are critical to LNG in Canada

February 19, 2025

‘This is why we say Canadian LNG is Indigenous LNG’

From a speech by Alliance CEO Karen Ogen (photo above) to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute’s conference on the global role of LNG, in Ottawa on Feb. 13, 2025.

The First Nations LNG Alliance was founded in 2014 not long after the idea of creating an LNG industry in British Columbia, was first being considered.

Our organization is a collective of First Nations participating in, and supportive of, sustainable and responsible LNG development.

First Nations are critical to the development of LNG.

It’s First Nations territory from where the gas is extracted in Treaty 8 territory, it’s First Nations territory across which gas is transported via pipeline, it is First Nations territory where LNG terminals are located, and it is First Nations waters through which carriers take LNG to market.

In the case of Canada’s fledgling LNG industry, we broke a pattern that had existed for over a century.  First Nations have been at the heart of the LNG opportunity – not on the sidelines like before – but on the job sites and in the boardrooms – helping to make it happen.

I was in Japan earlier this month speaking to a number of groups about Canada’s LNG opportunity.

I was told by one official, “We don’t want to hear about the history”. But it’s important for everyone to know.

I come here as an advocate for responsible LNG for the purpose of supporting my community and my people.

I am the history that can’t be ignored.

I am a product of a proud people who continue to pick berries, trade in eulachon (fish) grease, harvest salmon, hunt for moose, and weave baskets from birch bark.

I am the history that seeks to raise our communities from poverty, to provide hope and opportunity for young people, and gain economic parity with the rest of Canada.

We want to own our future, not be owned.

It is important for you to know that.  We want to partner on LNG; but you need to know who you are partnering with.

Many of you do know this because these partnerships are happening.

Cedar LNG is represented at this conference.  It’s a shining example of partnership – the first Indigenous majority-owned LNG facility in the world is under construction.  The Haisla Nation are proud owners, led by Chief Crystal Smith who was named as Person of the Year by the Energy Council of Canada.  She is the chair of the First Nations LNG Alliance.  She is but one example of Indigenous leaders stepping up to partner.

First Nations along the Coastal GasLink pipeline have an option for a 10% equity stake that will provide them with long-term revenues to support their communities. They have also benefit from procurement, jobs, and training opportunities. That’s another example of partnership.

The Nisga’a Nation has partnered with Western LNG to advance both a floating LNG terminal and 700-kilometre pipeline across the B.C. north.

There are many more examples of partnerships taking place today, and more to come in the future.

We are all partnering because First Nations are supporting our communities, and our corporate partners and governments are coming to us with respect.  We had to earn it through a lot of hard-won court cases but we are in a better place today.  We are creating new history.

What are Indigenous priorities for LNG going forward? The table stakes are meaningful consultation and engagement.

First Nations and proponents need to get to know each other.  Respect and trust must be built over time.  First Nations are sophisticated about business and negotiations.  We know how to stand up for ourselves.  But work to discover our common interest and shared opportunity.

We want to continue to employ and advance the tools that are helping our communities gain strength as part of the LNG opportunity, earning revenue streams from projects to support our communities.

• We seek and expect procurement opportunities that help us grow and expand our Indigenous enterprises;
• We want to expand jobs and training opportunities for our people, whether they are for our ever-growing young population, or whether they are older members who seek to re-train;
• We want to be owners – as equity partners and through other forms of participation that help us build our self-sufficiency;
• To be owners we need to access capital – and we are encouraged by the governments of Alberta and B.C. and the federal government for steps they have taken to support First Nations equity financing;
• We also want to see more Indigenous-led, consent-based, Environmental Assessment processes.

We are here today feeling that we can be equal partners in responsibly developing our resources.

This is why we say Canadian LNG is Indigenous LNG.

In the near future, the first LNG cargo from LNG Canada will leave Haisla territory, led by HaiSeas tug boats, to deliver low-emission LNG from Canada to help power a global energy transition from coal in Asia.

It comes with a lot of pride that LNG cargoes leaving Kitimat are the product of a lot of hard work involving First Nations.  We all worked together.

What does Indigenous LNG look like?

• Indigenous-led, owned, and/or partnered;
• Global-leading environmental standards;
• Sharing the benefits fairly;
• Respecting UNDRIP principles.

That’s why we call it Indigenous LNG.

We have made a lot of progress, but we also recognize there is a history and a huge gap to bridge.

First Nations were left outside energy development and did not even have equal access to enjoying Canada’s bounty of energy.  We were literally left off the grid of Canada’s energy system.

We have done a lot to close the gap, but we have more work to do to bring our communities and people to a level of prosperity that all Canadians enjoy and to ensure Indigenous views are taken into account when government is making decisions

I am excited about what we have accomplished and where we go from here.

The past decade has caused us to reflect on all the Nations that contribute to the success of LNG.  As we have reflected on our journey, we believe our Alliance must fully embrace all aspects of the natural-gas value chain.  We all benefit from each other.  We can learn more from each other.  We can do more to help each other.

That’s why we will soon become the ‘First Nations Natural Gas Alliance,’ to be more inclusive of all First Nations and communities that are part of bringing this resource to the world.

It’s a subtle but important change.  Maximizing our LNG opportunity takes all Nations along the natural gas value chain.

And, the important work of developing LNG and connecting our natural gas with markets in Asia and around the world will take all of us here.  It’s a team effort.

And we are going to make history.

Posted here 19 February 2025

NT4