Five Alberta First Nations have launched legal challenges against the Canadian government’s decision to advance the Pathways Carbon Capture and Sequestration Project, a large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) development proposed to manage emissions from Alberta’s oil sands sector.
The case targets a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the federal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, which sets out steps to move the project forward.
If approved, the Pathways project would become Canada’s largest CCS development and one of the largest globally.
The project proposes transporting millions of tons of captured CO2 via pipeline approximately 250 miles south from oil sands facilities for permanent underground storage.
The proposed storage area overlaps with, or lies adjacent to, the reserve lands and traditional territories of Whitefish Lake First Nation #128, Frog Lake Cree Nation, Beaver Lake Cree Nation, Onion Lake Cree Nation, and Kehewin Cree Nation.
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The Nations argue that the federal government failed to adequately consult affected Indigenous communities and assess the long-term environmental, health, and safety risks of injecting CO2 beneath their territories.
Leaders from the Nations say they have sought meaningful engagement with federal authorities since 2023, including requesting a federal environmental review of the project in 2024.
According to the Nations, that review process was subsequently suspended, while governments proceeded with a federal-provincial agreement to advance the project.
CCUS governance, consent and community risk
The legal challenge raises broader questions around governance, consent, and social license for CCUS developments at scale.
While CCS is increasingly promoted as a pathway to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as oil sands production, the project’s opponents argue that long-term storage liabilities, potential leakage risks, groundwater impacts, and monitoring obligations have not been transparently addressed with communities that would host the storage sites.
The MoU also links the Pathways CCS development to a proposed bitumen export pipeline to Canada’s west coast, making the two projects interdependent. First Nations leaders say this bundling effectively accelerates fossil fuel infrastructure expansion under the banner of decarbonization, without securing free, prior and informed consent.
The case underscores a growing tension facing large CCUS projects: while governments view carbon storage as strategic infrastructure for emissions reduction, Indigenous nations and local communities are increasingly demanding stronger regulatory scrutiny, co-development frameworks, and long-term accountability for environmental and social risks.
