Every company/organization faces external factors that impact their business model; some are positive and some are negative. Throughout the history of Canada, a significant amount of conflict has occurred between the First Nations and the Canadian government. The past mistreating of First Nations has put extreme pressure on the government to avoid burning any bridges. More recently, the expansion of oil industries has been popular due to a rise of demand in Asia. This usually involves expanding onto First Nation land which raises environmental concerns and can affect their people’s general way of life. This is the case for the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. The plan to build oil pipelines was meant to start in 2018, but the conflict at hand has caused significant delays. The socio-cultural aspect of external factors affects the project in a negative way. The attitudes of the BC First Nation peoples aren’t in line with the Northern Gateway’s and the recent toxic waste spill in Mount Polley being a possible cause of a long tension crack dating back to a 2010 inspection report raises great concern [1]. However, from an economic standpoint, the Northern Gateway project would benefit Enbridge as well as Canada because of revenue attractiveness and global market conditions in Asia. With that being said, “the broader benefits must not be outweighed by adverse effects on the Aboriginal interest” [2] in order for the First Nations to consider complying with the Northern Gateway’s business model.
The Northern Gateway Pipeline
Sources:
[1] Gordon Hoekstra, “Crack in Mount Polley mine’s dam noted in 2010 inspection report,” The Vancouver Sun, Sept. 26th/14
[2] Peter O’Neil, “Nation chiefs to stage Site C showdown,” The Vancouver Sun, Sept. 18th/14
Canadian Press, “Northern Gateway pipeline through B.C. unlikely to start up by 2018,” The Vancouver Sun, Sept. 4th/14
Isabelle Montpetit, “Background: The Indian Act,” CBC News Canada, May 30th/11