Indigenous, local leaders optimistic about new pipeline despite “host of issues” Carney says Federal government is yet to address

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Mayor Sandy Bowman of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said the new pipeline is a signal of growth for the oilsands region.

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“With the province and the Federal government working together, it’s going to be big things for Alberta, for Fort McMurray and the entire region,” he continued. “For far too long, people have said Fort McMurray is not a good place to invest,” emphasizing that projects like these are discrediting that narrative.

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He also shared his excitement towards the Federal government’s commitment to hiring local contractors in the region for the pipeline’s construction.

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While the fine print may highlight several favourable outcomes, some leaders warned of unfinished business in mine water release and treatment regulations that need to be addressed in northeastern Alberta downstream communities, before projects of this scale can move along.

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Melody Lepine, Mikisew Cree First Nation Chief, told Postmedia she is more cautions than confident of the government’s proposed commitments.

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“I think this pipeline announcement is a signal that oil production in our region is going to increase substantively. And so, there are a lot of legacy issues that remain and a lot of unfinished business that we need to take care of before accelerating the pace and scale of development in the region.”

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Lepine said she is eager to witness those commitments become reality.

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“I want to see action in terms of ecosystem protection, health, and safeguarding our treaties,” she said.

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In July 2026, the Federal and provincial government, along with the Oil Sands Alliance, signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding to double oil production in the region to eight million barrels per day within the next decade, and advance the Pathways carbon capture and storage infrastructure project; two initiatives that northern Albertan First Nations have continued to share distrust about.

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The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) have publicly shared their view of carbon capture and storage pipelines as “greenwashing projects” that sweep the government’s neglect in consulting with Indigenous groups under the carpet.

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Keji Banjoko, government relations and consultation coordinator at the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations, told Postmedia in a previous interview “there is no real information” on the environmental impacts of carbon capture and storage technologies such as the Pathways Project pipeline.

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She said “First Nations were not given ability to say no,” to these developments.

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On the other end of the table, mine water release remains a major bone of contention for downstream communities that Indigenous leaders say will be “most affected” if oilsands process-affected water (OSPW), carrying potentially harmful chemicals, are released into the Athabasca watershed.

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The Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee, which was formed in May 2024 by the province to “assess options and provide recommendations to inform an accelerated plan for addressing oil sands, mine water and tailings ponds,” and table recommendations for “protecting the health of downstream communities and the environment” listed nine of those recommendations in Sept. 2025.

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Of the nine recommendations, the fifth echoes the health concerns brought forward by Indigenous leaders.

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It calls for a “standardized method to be developed for measuring naphthenic acids (NA)” contained in OSPW and highlights the inexistence of any known methods of measurement of NA for regulatory purposes within any jurisdiction.