MNO and TransCanada sign engagement agreement
Métis Nation of Ontario and TransCanada Sign Engagement Agreement for the Energy East Pipeline Project
Today, the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) announced it has signed a Communications and Engagement Funding Agreement (CEFA) with TransCanada Oil Pipelines (TSX:TRP). The CEFA will guide the working relationship between MNO and TransCanada in the development and environmental assessment of the Energy East Pipeline Project (the “Project”) over the next two years.
The Energy East Pipeline Project includes a 4,600-kilometre pipeline that will carry 1.1-million barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Eastern Canada through Ontario to delivery points in Quebec and New Brunswick. In Ontario, the Project will traverse five of the MNO’s regions, which are represented through Regional Consultation Committees as a part of the MNO’s consultation framework.
“The MNO is pleased with the positive and constructive relationship-building efforts TransCanada has demonstrated by signing this CEFA. Through this agreement, our communities and citizens will be able to learn about the Project as well as assess its impacts on Métis rights, interests and claims in order to ultimately make informed decisions on Energy East,” said MNO President Gary Lipinski.
President Lipinski added, “This agreement is also a ‘first’ for the MNO because it sets out a multi-region consultation process that will see rights-bearing Métis communities along the Project’s route working together. I applaud the MNO’s local and regional leadership for collaborating in this way and believe this collective approach will ensure the Métis Nation’s overall interests in relation to the Project are addressed.”
