A new program in the works at Alberta’s research and development agency aims to improve pipeline monitoring and spill response by enlisting more Indigenous people.
Hundreds of thousands of kilometres of oil and gas pipes criss-cross the province, many in remote areas near the homes of First Nations and Métis people.
Ecologist Shauna-Lee Chai is hoping to get some traction for a feasibility study in the coming months into Indigenous monitoring.
“We thought that this made perfect sense just because Indigenous people have strong ties to the land,” said Chai, who is with InnoTech Alberta, a subsidiary of the Crown corporation Alberta Innovates.
“They’re often boots on the ground. They spend a good part of their day, many of them, practising their traditional rites: hunting, fishing, collecting berries and medicines.”
