Loading ...By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA, Dec 7 (Reuters) – Canada will give aboriginal groups more say in discussions over natural resource projects located on their territory, which should help pave the way for major pipelines and mines, the country’s new energy minister said on Monday.
The Liberal government, which took power last month, had pledged to toughen environmental assessments that critics said had been weakened under the former Conservative government.
Asked whether the new assessment process meant aboriginal interests could block development of a pipeline, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr declined to give a direct response.
“We will consult leaders, we will consult communities, we will seek consensus,” he said in an interview.
Low prices for oil and other commodities have hammered Canada’s natural resource sector, which is shedding jobs.
The approval of at least two proposed pipelines – TransCanada Corp’s Energy East and the expansion of Kinder Morgan Inc’s Trans Mountain Pipeline – has been bogged down by protests, with aboriginal groups saying they have been marginalized by current rules for assessing projects.