A new chapter in collaboration: OJ Pipelines partnership with Indigenous-led companies from Skin Tyee Nation, Wet’suwet’en First Nation and Witset First Nation
Dwayne Prince, Construction Monitoring and Community Liaison (CMCL) for Skin Tyee (Left) and Tommy Adair, Environmental Inspector (Right) walking side-by-side along the Morice Drill Pad site in Section 7.
Indigenous participation is a core component of Coastal GasLink’s extraordinary legacy. The foundation of our success relies on working with each community, listening to their views, incorporating their feedback and advancing reconciliation efforts in meaningful ways.
Over the last few weeks, O.J. Pipelines – one of Canada’s largest pipeline contractors, has partnered with three local Indigenous communities along the project route, to build Section 7 of Coastal GasLink. This marks the third Indigenous collaboration responsible for major pipeline construction.
The partnership is a collaboration between O.J. Pipelines, Natanlii Development Corporation (Skin Tyee Nation), Yinka Dene Economic Development Limited Partnership (Wet’suwet’en First Nation) and Kyah Development Corporation (Witset First Nation) and leverages each Nations deep knowledge and commitment to the land while providing significant opportunities for local Indigenous participation in the region.
“OJ Pipelines (“OJ”) is honored to enter into formal agreements with the Skin Tyee Nation, Wet'suwet'en First Nation and Witset First Nation. OJ has a long track record of working collaboratively with the communities we operate in, and we look forward to collaborating and creating long-lasting beneficial outcomes in these First Nations communities and meaningful employment for their members. We believe the strong partnership being formed between OJ, Coastal GasLink, Skin Tyee Nation, Witset First Nation and Wet'suwet'en First Nation will result in the world class delivery of this important project,” James Nixon, Senior Project Manager, OJ Pipelines.
Bevin Wirzba
President, Coastal GasLink
Coastal GasLink, which is surpassing more than 60 per cent overall completion, is one of the largest and most complex projects in Canadian history, which makes delivering on the commitments the project has made to Indigenous and local communities that much more important.
Board of Directors
Yinka Dene Economic Development Limited Partnership
"Kyah Dev Corp (KDC), a Witset First Nation subsidiary, is immensely proud to partner with OJ Pipelines on the construction of Coastal GasLink. This day has been a long time coming and we would like to acknowledge the teams at KDC, Coastal GasLink and OJ Pipelines that worked so hard to make this happen. Having the ability to participate and benefit from projects like Coastal GasLink without compromising our cultural values and environmental stewardship is what economic reconciliation looks like," Joe Bevan, Chair, Kyah Dev Corp.
“Natanlii Development is thrilled to partner with OJ Pipelines. Although we worked collaboratively with Coastal GasLink on a number of successful subcontracts through Natanlii-Frost, this latest venture represents a significant step change for Natanlii Development Corporation and Skin Tyee. We couldn’t be happier and look forward to deepening our relationship with Coastal GasLink through this partnership,” Jade Irwin, Economic Development Manager, Natanlii Developments.
From pipeline concept, construction and operation, our respect for the land, culture and community guides all our decisions at Coastal GasLink. These partnerships not only demonstrate the importance of working together towards economic prosperity, but also our commitment to Indigenous reconciliation.