Some of Canada’s planned major projects are coming up against consent obligations with First Nations, while the federal government offers Indigenous groups a 15% stake in the Trans Mountain Pipeline that some say is much too low.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has been aggressively pursuing policies to make Canada an attractive location for international investment as part of a strategy to shore up the country’s economy amid a trade war with the United States. Some of his actions to this end include regulatory fast-tracking under last year’s Bill C-5 and the recently tabled Bill C-39, and hosting a high-profile Canada Investment Summit to draw international investors.

But Indigenous groups are expressing concerns about how those policies will affect their rights to land and natural resources, and whether the federal government will fulfill its commitments for consultation with First Nations as it pursues its economic objectives.

Earlier this month, the Anishnabe Nation of Lac Simon published a release stating that the Kino Aski liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which is majority owned by the Atikamekw Nation Council with a 50.1% stake, needs consent of any First Nations along its path. A pipeline that is part of the project, to bring LNG from western Canada to the eastern coast for export to Europe, would potentially cross lands of multiple First Nations, including the Anishnabe Nation of Lac Simon, reports APTN News.

While the Atikamekw Nation Council says the project is only in the technical study phase and no path has been confirmed, Lac Simon says it is still uneasy with that level of commitment, reminding potential investors and the federal government that the project “must, without exception, obtain the consent of the Anishnabe Nation of Lac Simon and the other affected First Nations,” APTN writes.

The letter was released during the three-day Canada Investment Summit, where the federal government showcased the Kino Aski project as an investment opportunity.

The letter echoed another warning from Indigenous leaders at the summit, who cautioned the federal government against ignoring First Nations’ inherent rights when offering natural resources to foreign investors, APTN reports.

“First Nations will continue to demand justice, respect, and the fulfillment of the Crown’s constitutional and treaty obligations to the original relationship. Trust must be built before any investment can be made in our territories,” Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige said in a statement.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has also criticized the federal government’s approach to consulting with First Nations, including through the Major Projects Office (MPO) that is responsible for overseeing potential projects deemed to be in the “national interest.” In a news conference, Nepinak said the one-year time limit on consultation processes is too limiting, writes the Globe and Mail.

Nepinak added that the MPO “[doesn’t] know what they’re doing when it comes to First Nations,” adding that MPO CEO Dawn Farrell has turned down repeated opportunities to speak with chiefs and assemblies, states iPolitics.

Meanwhile, the federal government’s offer of a combined 15% ownership among Indigenous groups of the Trans Mountain pipeline has received mixed responses. The government had promised that it would offer First Nations an equity stake in the pipeline in 2019, but this is the first offer on the table. The 15% would be divided among 129 First Nations located along the pipeline route, writes the Globe and Mail.

The National Coalition of Chiefs—which describes itself as “committed to defeating on-reserve poverty by working with the natural resource industry”—told CTV News the offer is “everything we want.”

“We want long-term relationships. We want ownership in a project. We want to share the risk. We want to be able to monitor it environmentally so that it’s protected,” said  Dale Swampy of Samson Cree Nation, the coalition’s CEO.

But Stephen Buffalo, president of the Alberta-based Indian Resource Council, told Bloomberg the 15% offer is a “somewhat feeble attempt at economic reconciliation,” and the federal government “should at least put 50% on the table.”

Another group, Project Reconciliation, had envisioned full First Nation ownership of the pipeline. In response to the latest offer, Project Reconciliation managing director and CEO Steve Mason told Bloomberg that First Nations should own a “material piece of the pipeline,” a minimum 30%.