First Nations groups backed by environmental and conservationist allies in Canada are denouncing a pipeline and tanker infrastructure agreement announced Thursday between Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, calling the deal a betrayal and promising to fight against its implementation tooth and nail.

“Dene chiefs will not gamble with the lives of our people or the health of our waters, lands and animals,” says Dene National Chief George Mackenzie, as he demands Dene Nation input in regulatory decisions on Alberta oil sands projects that could affect the environment downstream in the NWT. Photo courtesy of the Dene Nation

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has struck a deal for a new pipeline carrying a million barrels of oil a day to Canada’s west coast in a bid to pivot away from an over-reliance on the US economy.

Prime Minister Mark Carney briefed his cabinet Tuesday on a broad framework for an energy deal with Alberta that could reset relations and usher in a new era of harmony on resource development.

The territorial government says it is advocating for the governments of Alberta and Canada to “formally engage and consult with Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations in the NWT on the potential treatment and release of oil sands mine water, as well as on any related environmental assessments.”

Falling oil prices and trade troubles continue to threaten Alberta’s finances, but the province’s deficit is expected to shrink only slightly. It has been pegged at $6.4 billion, down $40 million from a projected $6.

"Alberta is very much thinking about public relations and planning as opposed to actual action that would reduce the environmental impacts of oil sands," she said. "What we need in the tars sands is strong regulation that forces oil companies to clean up their act. This plan, it's not requiring real change." Enormous Oil Reserves