By, Lisa Currier (Indigenous Advocate and Land Defender)
As a Cree woman from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, I speak not only as a member of my Nation but as a daughter of the land. I reject the proposed development of a northern trade corridor and potential pipeline through Port Nelson and Hudson Bay.
Premier Kinew’s proposal, framed as an economic opportunity, directly contradicts the values of Indigenous sovereignty, environmental stewardship, and international Indigenous rights. He has publicly discussed boosting shipments through the existing Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay, while also entertaining the idea of a second port at Port Nelson; alongside new rail and pipeline infrastructure; to increase exports to Europe and beyond. Whether through Churchill or Port Nelson, the path cuts through the heart of our northern lands.
This corridor would slice through pristine boreal forest; sacred territory; and lands already scarred by hydro development. Indigenous Peoples in the North are not strangers to extraction; we have inherited the aftermath of hydroelectric dams, rail spills, tailings ponds, and broken promises. We will not inherit more destruction for the sake of industry.
Let it be clear: the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which Canada has adopted into law, affirms our right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. That means not just consultation, but the power to say no. Article 32.2 requires states to obtain Indigenous consent before approving any project affecting our lands and resources. Article 26 affirms our right to own, use, develop, and control the lands and territories we have traditionally occupied. These are not symbolic gestures; they are international legal standards to which Canada is accountable. Any project that bypasses these rights is not just an insult; it is a violation of international law.
We are not stakeholders; we are rights-holders. Manitoba is not a blank map for industrial exploitation. These are our homelands; rich in memory, medicines, kinship, and meaning.
Too often, Chiefs and Councils are forced to the tables of resource extraction; made to believe they must negotiate or be left behind. In reality, many are politically and economically starved to those tables; after generations of underfunding, systemic neglect, and broken treaty promises. Agreements are being signed under duress; with little transparency and without genuine, informed consent from the people. That is not true consent. Consent obtained under pressure is not consent at all. It breaks the sacred covenant between leadership and the grassroots; it replays the legacy of colonization in modern form.
We must be clear: the people are the true title-holders to the land. Our ancestors never ceded this territory to Canada. Our lands were not surrendered to be governed by corporations or colonial governments. Chiefs and Councils must represent the will of the Nation; not act on behalf of it without the clear, informed, and participatory approval of the people. Our ancestors signed treaties based on peace and coexistence; not pipelines and unchecked extraction.
Hydro development has already submerged traplines; disrupted our watersheds; and displaced our food systems. Now, we are being asked to accept the possibility of a pipeline; carrying oil, LNG, hydrogen, or other industrial products; across thawing permafrost, endangered species habitats, and protected areas near Wapusk National Park. In a time of climate collapse, wildfire evacuations, and melting muskeg; we must ask: for whose benefit? And at what cost?
The boreal forest is not just a landscape; it is a global climate lifeline. It stores nearly twice as much carbon per hectare as the Amazon rainforest. Canada’s boreal holds over 208 billion tonnes of carbon in its trees, peat, and soils. Disrupting this fragile ecosystem for profit could flip one of the world’s largest carbon sinks into a carbon source; accelerating climate change not just here, but across the planet.
We’ve seen how corporate giants like Vale enter Treaty 5 territory with secretive agreements; signed without grassroots knowledge or support. Meanwhile, our communities continue to live in crisis. This isn’t about being anti-development; it’s about fighting for a real future; one rooted in Indigenous knowledge, environmental stewardship, and true local sovereignty.
We call on all levels of government to:
– Respect Indigenous jurisdiction and uphold UNDRIP;
– Reject any corridor or pipeline proposal that repeats the harms of the past;
– And fully implement the 231 Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This includes Call 13.1; which demands that all resource development projects undergo comprehensive gender-based and human rights impact assessments. The connection between violence against the land and violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQ+ people is not abstract; it is direct.
Dispossession leads to vulnerability.
Development without justice leads to death.
We will not be complicit in a pipeline through our homelands.
Our resistance is not radical; it is our responsibility.
Our land is not for sale.
Our sovereignty is not negotiable.
Our future is worth more than a pipeline.
Our resistance is not radical; it is our responsibility.
Statement in response to Premier Kinew’s comments on a northern pipeline