Alberta Is Spending $5 Million to Win BC Indigenous Pipeline Support

Alberta taxpayers are already spending millions on consultants to smooth the way with Indigenous nations for a new pipeline through British Columbia to the Pacific coast, a proposal that so far has been met with strident opposition.

The biggest spending is $3.4 million with Sedgwick Strategies, a Delta-based company whose president, Byng Giraud, is a veteran of developing major projects and a longtime organizer for provincial and federal conservatives and the BC Liberals.

Most recently Giraud was instrumental to the development of the Woodfibre liquefied natural gas export facility currently under construction near Squamish. He was the company’s first employee in North America and moved from serving as the president of corporate affairs to becoming the country manager on the project.

A recipient of the Order of British Columbia for his work on Indigenous economic reconciliation, Giraud has also been chairman of Ridley Terminals Inc., vice-president of the Association for Mineral Exploration BC and vice-president of the Mining Association of BC.

Giraud has worked on many political campaigns over the years, including a 2009 turn as co-campaign manager for then-natural resources minister Gary Lunn in Saanich-Gulf Islands that was memorable for unexplained robocalls and close connections between Lunn’s campaign and third-party advertisers.

Another $1.1 million is committed by Alberta to Blackfish Enterprises Ltd. in North Vancouver. The company’s principal is Chris Sankey, a former Lax Kw’alaams Band elected councillor and a controversial Conservative Party of BC candidate in North Coast-Haida Gwaii in the 2024 provincial election.

Sankey’s consulting company promotes Indigenous participation in the mainstream economy as key to reconciliation. He has argued in the National Post in favour of a new pipeline and against a tanker ban on B.C.’s northwest coast.

During the 2024 election campaign Sankey was targeted by opponents for “allegedly saying that COVID-19 vaccines caused AIDS and denying the Jan. 6, 2021, riots by Donald Trump supporters,” according to CBC. A statement from Sankey’s campaign manager to the Canadian Press didn’t address the questions, the CBC story said, but accused the NDP of trying to “cancel” the candidate.

The Tyee reported on a Sankey tweet from 2022 that linked to a video of a speech by far-right Alternative for Germany politician Christine Anderson, which alleged then-prime minister Justin Trudeau had violated the human rights of convoy protesters. Sankey responded to questions from The Tyee by posting comments on X saying the questions were unfair and attacking the credibility of both the reporter and The Tyee.

B.C. First Nations leaders have been vocal opponents of a new pipeline through the province.

On Thursday the Union of BC Indian Chiefs released a statement saying the organization “is unequivocally opposed to renewed efforts by the federal and Alberta governments to advance a new oil pipeline to the British Columbia coast.”

Responding to announcements by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith about an agreement on a plan that could see pipeline construction start next year, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs said it was “yet another attempt to force unwanted fossil fuel infrastructure through First Nations territories without the free, prior, and informed consent of impacted Nations.”

The Coastal First Nations have been particularly critical of a proposed pipeline to the northwest coast, saying in a recent statement with the Lax Kw’alaams Band and the B.C. government that they want the federal government “to uphold the North Coast Oil Tanker Moratorium Act in its entirety, with no exceptions or carve outs.”

“No offer of equity or ownership will change our position, and no proponent is acceptable to us,” it quoted Coastal First Nations president and elected Chief of the Heiltsuk Nation Marilyn Slett saying. “Governments and would-be proponents should be aware of our absolute determination to protect our economy and our coast, which contributes more than $3 billion annually to our region and employs 30 per cent of the workforce.”

Alberta’s contract with Sedgwick started Feb. 23 and runs until the end of July, while the one with Blackfish goes from Jan. 8 to the end of June.

Neither company is currently registered to lobby the B.C. government on the issue.

Calls to Giraud and Sankey weren’t returned by publication time.

Both contracts were issued through Alberta’s Indigenous Relations Ministry and appear in the province’s database of sole-source service contracts. The province’s procurement policy requires any contract for more than $10,000 to be put out for competitive bids, though the requirement can be skipped with a deputy minister’s authorization under specified grounds for an exception.

In this case the contracts were given despite far exceeding the cap, Alberta’s records say, because “it can be demonstrated that only one supplier is able to meet the requirements of a procurement.”

The ministry is also spending $611,000 for Axxcelus Capital Fund to provide consulting services in support of the West Coast Oil Pipeline project between Feb. 23 and July 31.

The Calgary company describes itself as offering “a comprehensive set of services designed to assist both Indigenous communities and Industry in navigating the complexities of establishing mutually beneficial relationships.”

Its website lists Chief Billy Morin Nahtokitopi as a strategic adviser. A former Chief of the Enoch Cree Nation, he is now a Conservative member of Parliament representing Edmonton Northwest.

MPs are not prohibited from doing outside work, but according to the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons, they are expected “to arrange their private affairs so that foreseeable real or apparent conflicts of interest may be prevented from arising, but if such a conflict does arise, to resolve it in a way that protects the public interest.”

Morin did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment Tuesday afternoon.

A spokesperson for Alberta Minister of Indigenous Relations Rajan Sawhney said the contracts with Sedgwick and Blackfish are a necessary part of planning for a possible pipeline to the B.C. coast.

“Indigenous Relations has retained specialized external support to provide on-the-ground engagement services with Indigenous communities in Alberta and British Columbia related to exploratory work on a potential West Coast pipeline,” said press secretary Karah Folk.

“Indigenous engagement is not one-size-fits-all and requires place-based expertise, established relationships and understanding of local governance and protocols to support co-ordinated, respectful and effective early engagement across regions.”

The pipeline-related contracts also include $360,000 from Alberta’s Energy and Minerals Ministry for Ian Anderson, former CEO of Trans Mountain Corp., who oversaw the $34-billion expansion of the now publicly owned Trans Mountain pipeline.

The yearlong contract is for “advice to minister and deputy minister on West Coast Oil Pipeline strategy and submission to the Major Project Office.”

In that case the ministry overrode the cap on sole-source contracts because “the acquisition is of a confidential or privileged nature and disclosure through an open bidding process could reasonably be expected to compromise government confidentiality, cause economic disruption or be contrary to the public interest.”

In total the consulting contracts add up to nearly $5.5 million.

Last October Alberta announced it would spend $14 million preparing a West Coast pipeline proposal to submit to the federal government’s Major Projects Office for consideration.

On Nov. 27 the Canadian government and Alberta entered a memorandum of understanding that, among other conditions, committed them to working together on a new private sector pipeline through B.C. that would be co-owned with Indigenous people.

On May 15 Carney and Smith announced they had made progress on the agreement and construction of a pipeline could begin as soon as September 2027.

B.C. Premier David Eby repeated the province’s opposition to a proposed pipeline and repeal of the North Coast tanker ban. “As a country, it's time to stop rewarding bad behaviour,” he said. “It cannot be the case that the projects that get prioritized in Canada are those where a premier threatens to leave the country.”

Conservative Party of BC interim leader Trevor Halford has said his party supports lifting the tanker ban and building a pipeline.