Cold Lake First Nations seeks judicial review of Pacific Link pipeline designation

OTTAWA – Cold Lake First Nations filed an application for judicial review in Federal Court on Thursday challenging Ottawa’s decision to designate the Pacific Link pipeline as a project in the national interest.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced last week the pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia would be fast-tracked under the Building Canada Act.

The designation as a project of national interest does not eliminate the requirement for the government to consult with First Nations on the impact of the project itself. Rather, the goal is to complete the required reviews and consultations over the next year so construction can begin next September.

Cold Lake First Nations Chief Kelsey Jacko has told The Canadian Press his community was left out of consultations on the pipeline designation, despite the fact that his community is situated in the oilsands region.

In an interview Thursday, Jacko said his community was left with no choice but to turn to the courts because the federal government and Carney have ignored their concerns.

“I’m here to protect the best interests of my people and for the ones yet to come,” he said. “They’re going to use my backyard as a garbage dump.”

In the application for judicial review, Cold Lake First Nations’ lawyers said the designation breached Canadian law and is inconsistent with the honour of the Crown.

“Increasing oilsands production will have significant adverse effects on the ability of CLFN members to maintain their Luechogh Tue Denesuline way of life as promised by Treaty no. 6,” the application said.

“Canada has made no effort to understand or mitigate the massive cumulative effects of oilsands development on CLFN’s Luechogn Tue Denesuline treaty rights.”

The First Nation is asking the court to quash the national interest designation and to declare that Canada has a duty to consult with the community on the pipeline.

Indigenous communities along the route for the pipeline were given just two months for consultations on whether the pipeline should be designated a project of national interest — and that was still more than the government had planned.

At first, the consultations were to take place over one month. They were extended to two months after Indigenous leaders raised concerns about the tight timeline.

A summary of those consultations posted online by the federal government says Indigenous groups denounced what they called a lack of information about the project, which they said prevented them from fully assessing its impact.

The Assembly of First Nations told The Canadian Press last week it had identified “many red flags” in the pipeline’s national interest designation and said the federal government appeared to be predetermining outcomes and approving projects in advance of meaningful consultations.

“The government’s decision today is coming only 12 days after the consultation deadline. As we have said on many occasions, First Nations support economic development and prosperity for all, but not at the expense of our rights, the planet, and the government’s legal obligations to our people,” the statement from the Assembly of First Nations said.

Carney promised his major projects agenda would not interfere with Canada’s obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous leaders have warned his government risks violating their rights with “national interest” designations through the Major Projects Office and the controversial Building Canada Act.

The United Nations declaration — which Canada adopted — outlines the need for free, prior and informed consent before decisions are made that could adversely affect the rights and lands of Indigenous communities and people. Indigenous communities also have recognized rights under Section 35 of the Constitution.

The UN declaration is cited in the pipeline consultation document, which says Ottawa’s engagement efforts were designed with those principles in mind.

Cold Lake First Nations is also concerned about the Pathways Project, a multibillion-dollar plan to transport and store oilsands greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon capture and storage project is linked to the pipeline; Ottawa and Alberta have said that one would not be able to proceed without the other.

The court filing says if the national interest designation for the pipeline stands, Ottawa will have granted pre-approval of Pathways without meaningfully consulting with Cold Lake.

“Since March 2023, CLFN has repeatedly written to Canada seeking engagement with the relevant federal ministers regarding the Pathways Project. Canada has not responded in any substantive or meaningful way,” the filing says.

It also says Cold Lake First Nations raised concerns about Pathways to the government’s major projects office, which responded by saying Canada would not consider the effects of that project or the doubling of oilsands production in its assessment of the pipeline designation.

In a statement, NDP MP Leah Gazan said Carney’s major projects plan is failing and the legal challenge from Cold Lake is only the start.

“The government clearly needs a legal reminder that free, prior and informed consent and the duty to consult and accommodate is not a constitutional option,” she said. “It’s unfortunate that in only a year and a half, this government has taken us back decades in our path to reconciliation.”

The court filing says Cold Lake First Nations has made multi-generational sacrifices for Canada’s “national interest” through the relocation of the community for military training, and through Canada’s failure to share resource revenue generated in their territory.

“We trusted them before and now we’re expected to trust them again?” Jacko said. “We’re trying to work with Canada. We keep trying, but nobody’s trying with us.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2026.