Enbridge Inc. (ENB) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

My name is Glen Whelan, and I'm the Director of Communications at Enbridge, and I'm also the MC and moderator for today's press conference. First, I'd like to acknowledge that we're here today on Treaty 6 territory and the homeland of the Métis. We have several speakers this morning to discuss this exciting partnership. For those in attendance, you'll find short bios of our speakers in the media kit that we provided. I'll start with a quick introduction of all our speakers, and then we'll hand it off to them to begin. I'll start with our indigenous partners. We have in Alaska -- if you just put your hand when you're introduced. We have Chief Greg Desjarlais of Frog lake First Nation; Stan DeLorme, Chairperson of Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement; and Justin Bourque, President of Athabasca Indigenous Investments. From the government of Alberta, we have the Honorable Jason Kenney, Premier of Alberta, and the honorable Rick Wilson, Indigenous Relations Minister, sitting at the front. And from the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation, CEO, Chana Martineau. Finally, from Enbridge, we have Colin Gruending, Executive Vice President and President of Liquids Pipelines; and our President and Chief Executive Officer, Al Monaco. So following the speakers, we'll take some questions and wrap up with a brief photo opportunity. But first, I would like to welcome the Honorable Premier Kenney to the podium. Thank you, Kenney.

Thank you, chiefs and leaders of Métis communities for welcoming us to traditional Treaty 6 territory. And thank you for doing so during National Truth and Reconciliation Week. I have been in public life for 25 years, and I have had the privilege of serving as Alberta's Premier for the past 3.5 years. In that time, I have made hundreds of announcements. Today is easily one of the most exciting and consequential. This is a historic day for Alberta, for Canada, for reconciliation, for indigenous people, for our economic future. Today, this partnership that we are announcing between Enbridge and a group of 23 indigenous communities with the support of the Alberta's government. It is a historic game-changing deal that shows the way to the future of shared prosperity, of being partners in prosperity, of moving from the talk of reconciliation to the real progress of reconciliatory action. Today, we are achieving the dream and the vision that this government set before Albertans in the last provincial election to put the faith and credit of the Alberta Crown behind First Nations who want to be full partners in prosperity, in the responsible development of the resources that lie below the lands that their ancestors first inhabited. Indigenous people, of course, have since time immemorial, been the responsible stewards, [indiscernible] and harvesters of the natural resources of these lands. But for too long, they -- their people have not been able, fully, to benefit from the enormous economic wealth created by Alberta's oil and gas industry and our natural resource sector, more broadly. That is why we ran on a commitment to create the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation to help First Nations that sometimes don't have strong balance sheets, don't have experience in making complex financial transactions and too often have been left out of prosperity and opportunity to help them get a real ownership stake, an ownership stake in the development and shipment sale and the entire industry of our natural resources. The Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation was created in 2019 by a statute of the Alberta legislature, and its mandate is to provide that financial backstop as well as advisory services to First Nations indigenous communities who want to partner with resource and other companies. Now initially, it's mandate was limited to natural resource development, but last year, we expanded the mandate to include agriculture, telecommunications and other sectors to ensure that our indigenous communities can benefit from the full range of opportunities in Alberta's booming economy and a diversified economic future. Today, we have hit, with this deal, the mother load. Up until now, we have funded $200 million in backstop for projects, including $93 million for an equity stake in the Cascade Power project near Hinton with 6 First Nations participating, and $27 million guarantee to the Frog Lake First Nation so they could maintain ownership of their SAGD bitumen operation, a $40 million loan guarantee to 8 indigenous communities involved in the Astisiy limited partnership to buy the Northern Courier Pipeline system. But today is the big one, the game changer I've been waiting so patiently for, for 3.5 years. And with the brilliant leadership of Enbridge under the presidency of Al Monaco, to reach out to 23 indigenous communities in Central and Northern Alberta with the idea of taking an equity stake of 11.5% in a network of 7 wealth producing pipelines that have been generating good returns for shareholders for many years. So this is not a bet on a future project. This is not a faint hope of future returns. It is with the signing of the agreement here today with the debt that is being raised in the markets with -- by Enbridge right now, with the backstop of the Alberta government, this is a $1.1 billion deal with a $0.25 billion backstop from the government of Alberta, making this possible that we'll be generating significant revenue -- in the long term, revenue that these First Nations and Métis communities can literally bank on, that -- yes, they can use to improve education and social services for their people. But they can also invest in other income generating economic opportunities and investments becoming full partners in our economy. This is a big deal. This is the single largest indigenous transaction in the natural resource sector in the history of North America, and I think it may well be in world history. I don't know one that exceeds this. This is Alberta. This is Enbridge. This is these First Nations showing the way to the future. On Friday, we will remember many of the sad injustices that indigenous people in these lands have experienced in past generations. We will already dedicate ourselves as Canadians to the ongoing work of reconciliation but as long as indigenous people, live in poverty and do not benefit fully from the great richness of this land, we will not achieve the dream of reconciliation. It is through practical concrete measures like the deal being signed today that we -- can I believe, show real hope to people for a very bright future. So I want to say thank you to Al Monaco and his team at Enbridge. Thank you to the entire team at the Indigenous Opportunities Corporation. Thank you to Indigenous Relations Minister, Rick Wilson, for his stubbornness and vision; and to his Deputy Minister. But most importantly, thank you to the First Nations and Métis communities who have embraced this vision. Because we know that there's always a debate in the different communities about resource development participation. The 23 leaders who have signed this agreement have shown vision and true leadership in the best interest of their people and in the true spirit of reconciliation. I'm so proud of all of you. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing the long-term benefits of this that will roll out, not just on this deal, but I think this becomes a new benchmark. And so to the AIOC, keep getting it done. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Now I'll call on Al Monaco.

Thank you. And thanks, Premier. And I'll come back to some comments for you later. But first of all, let me say that there is no place I'd rather be than here today in front of you with friends and with new partners. And the Premier mentioned long history of making announcements. This for sure is one of our proudest moments as well. Our company goes back over 100 years, and this has been stack right up there. A decade ago, we at Enbridge embarked on a mission to lead on indigenous engagement with an approach that focuses on listening carefully to what we're hearing, respecting indigenous culture and their deep connection to the water and land and making projects better based on their advice to us, who knows the environment better than indigenous groups, and we take advantage of that. This approach has been ingrained in the company now, and it's part of our values. So today, we are announcing this project that really illustrates that. And by the way, the code name for this project is Rocket, in case you're interested in the internal [indiscernible]. I won't get into how we set these project names, but I'll let you guess. Over time, we've shifted, and I would say, accelerated our approach here from one that was pretty much around the basics, everybody has heard about consultation and accommodation and the regulatory standards that prevailed, but we've ramped it up. We then focused on environmental stewardship and then on to economic benefits. Everybody knows what that is jobs, procurement opportunities. But now we're at the top level, economic ownership. We believe that the model that we've rolled out today is going to be part of the future of the energy infrastructure development. We want to become partners with indigenous communities across the entire system. Sounds like a big objective, a big target it is on both sides of the border. What you see here today is not just a transaction. There's a lot of financial complexity to it. But really, it's the beginning of a partnership and a deepening of the relationship that I think is going to be absolutely vital to what we do, in the future. Which is essentially delivering the energy that people want and need every day in North America. And it's part of the pattern you've seen from us. So the Line 3 replacement. This is the biggest project that we've done in the company's history, totaling $10 billion. We did had opportunities for indigenous groups of $1 billion or roughly 10% of the project. We forged new partnerships just like that in other locations as well, East-West high electricity transmission line in Ontario. And the Wabamun carbon capture hub that we talked about last year for the first time near Edmonton is going to be co-owned by indigenous partners. Now turn your eyes to the map over there, and you'll see that all of the location or the circles there describe the locations of the indigenous groups that are participating. So I would say this map or this page, if you will, really exemplifies what can happen when people collaborate and come together. So -- yes, it's a page of pipelines. But really, what it illustrates is that we are on the same page with their indigenous partner. And as the Premier said, the largest such partnership in North America. So here's why I think this partnership is really important. Our business, when you really get down to it, involves trust. And engaging hundreds of nations, tribes, communities across North America. Many have been very keen on the indigenous side to participate in building economic prosperity and economic sovereignty for our people. They want to be partners in the energy transition that everybody talks about through the full cycle of the energy asset, not just when we need to build a project. But from start to the end of the asset life. And we think our relationship with indigenous people can be a big part of reconciliation in this country. And I like what Chief Desjarlais said earlier. It's reconciliation, but this is reconciliatory action. We're actually doing something to ensure that we foster reconciliation in this country. We've reached another milestone in the journey last week, we released our first indigenous reconciliation action plan, and we're very proud of that. This partnership is not just going to be a one-off. This is a great opportunity in front of us for industry, our province to change how we look at indigenous relationships, not just in the province but in the country. That's going to require a big commitment, more commitment from the industry and of course, government. And I do want to acknowledge the Alberta government's leadership role here under the leadership of Premier Kenney in seeding the ground of this historic partnership that we're celebrating today. This would not have been possible and had not been for that foresight and vision. And Mr. Premier with the support you provided, I just want to give a big thank you. And for what you've done in terms of supporting reconciliation in this country. This is good for Alberta but it is also an important part of what we need to do in Canada, going forward. Finally, the big question is, how can we take this to the new level and unlock the true energy potential in Canada? What else can we do to really accelerate indigenous economic participation in the energy transition? Well, it's pretty clear. For one thing, we need to improve investment certainty and the pace of permitting in this country. And we need to have incentives to support new and traditional forms of energy. And I will say, other governments may be thinking they need to follow the lead on what the province has done here, not just in Canada but in various states in the United States. If we can get this right going forward, then we have a lifetime of opportunity here. And what does that mean? So like what? Partnering on renewables and carbon capture with indigenous groups, natural gas and hydrogen, to partner with LNG to unlock the massive potential we have in this country, not just to monetize resources but to share the emissions reductions capability of our own natural gas globally. Industry is ready to lead the way here with new partnerships and the willingness on indigenous partners that are waiting in the wings. Most of all, I want to sincerely thank and congratulate Athabasca Indigenous Investments, so Justin Bourque. All of us at Enbridge are really honored to be here today and excited about what will be a long lasting and respectful and mutually beneficial relationship. And now I'm going to ask Colin Gruending to come up to tell you a little bit about the recipe that came about.

Thanks, Al. And good morning, everyone. I am honored to co-represent Enbridge on this special day. It's an exciting day for all of us, and I know the team can't all fit in this room, but I think everybody is pretty excited and proud to be part of this. As has been said, we announced a $1.1 billion acquisition by Athabasca Indigenous Investments or roughly an 11.6% stake in 7 of our pipelines that form a pretty important part of the business I run at Enbridge. By names, the pipelines, I'll mention them because they're all significant in their own right. The Athabasca pipeline, the Athabasca twin pipeline, the Norlite diluent pipeline, the Wapasu pipeline, the Wood Buffalo pipeline and finally, the Woodland and the Woodland extension pipeline. They're all on the map. I remember being part of teams over the last 20 years that secured this business and then built them one at a time. They are connected to more oil sands projects and any other system in the region. And collectively, they transport about 45% of Canada's oil sands production under contract. The key export hubs in Edmonton and Hardisty and then on to North America, contributing to energy security. And aren't we all blessed to have that here? To be clear, the Canadian oil sands and our pipelines in this region remain of immense strategic importance to me and my business and to Enbridge. The oil sands, as everyone in this room knows, is a vast resource that will thankfully support decades upon decades of production and stable income generation. So your first question is probably why would Enbridge even part with a portion of these important assets. Well, first, it supports our strategy of recycling capital from existing businesses to invest in other parts of energy transition. Al talked about many of them, dual-pronged conventional and new energies, in support of a gradual energy transition. And secondly, it gives us a rich opportunity to strengthen relationships with indigenous communities in Northern Alberta. And we also gain and partner with communities who have a knowledge of the land, water, environmental stewardship that we value at Enbridge. Now a little insight into how the partnership came to be. And it boils down to 3 key catalysts that align to make our path clear. The first, as Al said, we were engaging in different sorts of relationships with different communities across the continent, through what we call a full life cycle approach from design, construction, through abandonment. And this approach was rapidly evolving. And second, as Al mentioned, we were beginning to think about how we could get to the next level and look at economic co-investment, and where in that North American map, where we start. And it made a lot of intuition and sense for us to start right here in our backyard in Alberta. And finally, we became aware of the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Fund. It was really the final piece, kind of the missing link here, which has been mentioned, is a creative mechanism to backstop First Nations and Métis communities to gain the financial backing needed to invest in bigger projects like this. So that's how we came here. But even with that clarity, there were still a bunch of practical questions we needed to answer was, the first was it feasible to extend an offer to so many nations, 23 nations? Unprecedented. How would that be done? How do we structure it? And could we -- dealing with so many partners, any group of 23, how can we do this in a timely manner? And I don't think we perfected it, but we tried our best and in formulating our approach, we relied on 2 principles. The first was inclusion. And that helped us answer a number of the questions. And we're grateful that all 23 invitations extended were accepted. And it was important to us to involve all 23 in the region because all 23 are important to us. The second principle was basically to be responsive, and we tweaked our investment proposal with feedback along the way. Yes, there were questions along the way from communities, many questions throughout the process, due diligence, many questions. But through strong collaboration and a sense of purpose and the old adage where there's a will, there's a way, we came to agreement. And together -- one fact here is that we did this in about 6 months, which is a testament to the hard work invested by everyone up here and outside this room. So I want to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who contributed their hearts and minds to this. So we are celebrating today but the work continues. These are long-lived energy infrastructure assets, and with that goes our lifelong commitment to these relationships. And with that, I'll ask Chief Desjarlais to say a few words. Thank You.

[Foreign Language] I said that I'm thankful to the creator for allowing me to get up today. I shake hands with each and every one of you. I just want to say thank you for the introduction and for the opportunity for me to provide some comments. Now today is truly a significant day for the First Nations and Métis communities in the Athabasca region. It's a day that brings me great pride because the day that marks the beginning of a new path for our people. For too many years, First Nations and Métis communities, like what was shared, we didn't have the ability or the seed capital, to get involved in these projects. For too long, Métis settlements and the First Nations fought over small projects like brushing that were maybe 1 month, 2 or 3 months long. And that -- you cannot sustain your nation at all. You cannot build homes with that. So today is an important day for us as we move forward in the partnership and the relationship. And I, too, I want to thank the government of Alberta and the leadership and -- for coming up with this idea to support First Nations. I wear my treaty uniform today because we had signed a treaty. And the treaty was a peace treaty to live amongst and coexist with the foreign people who came to this land. And I want to thank the AIOC. I want to thank them for backstopping the First Nations because I always say First Nations weren't the problem, we're part of the solution here in this country. And -- this investment, it creates opportunities. It's going to allow us to send our kids to school. It's going to allow us to send our people to treatment. It's going to allow us to deal with the mental crisis that we have in our communities, the anxiety of the young people. It's going to allow us to improve the quality of life. It's going to allow us to build homes. I support economic sovereignty. I also live off the land. Many of us, First Nations, gather medicines, berries. We hunt and fish and trap. And then we always had an economy, but somewhere along the line, we were excluded. Today's investment means that we have a very important seat at the table. And the seat cannot be ignored or overlooked. And another big thank you to Enbridge. The question was asked why? Well, I want to say it can impact the lives of the children that are yet to come, the unborn. We're elderly people that need their power and gas paid that maybe did not pay into a pension plan, that you're going to house people in new homes and have roads graded. And maybe one day have services that we can all enjoy water by turning on a tap instead of it having to be delivered by a truck every few days. It's also very significant that the investments being made collectively by 23 indigenous communities that are most directly impacted by the development in the Athabasca region. And I too -- I believe that we're stronger in numbers, but we're also stronger as many nationalities, non-indigenous, the Métis, the First Nations people. Because under the creator's eye, we are all one. We're all his children. Even all of us in this room, we're all his children. And this is what the elders prophesized that we must work together and we must care for one another. When we put the collective values first, this is the outcome of something beautiful. And you look at the 7 teachings that we must keep in front of us. And this group was guided by truth, respect, bravery, honestly, wisdom and love. And most of all, the humility, the humility of one for another. And I'm just grateful for today. As the chief for Frog Lake, I serve my people. I have to have the foresight like many of our leaders do, to look beyond generations that are yet to come. And this deal is the benchmark. And I, too -- I hope the industry and the other levels of government are paying attention because our people should not live in poverty of the land of milk and honey. Our milk has gone sour somewhere. We need to get back to working together and providing the basics, the necessities of water, housing. If it wasn't for a deal like this -- just for example, Frog Lake, it's $234,000 from the federal government for housing. Now everybody knows why we struggle with mold, overcrowding. It's because -- you know what, these agreements we're supposed to run our nations on are outdated 50 years. We're 50 years behind. But also I want to thank Enbridge. I've been involved and at the table for 10 years now since I've been in leadership. I want to say hats off to Sam, and Kim. Me and Kim would talk about -- I would jokingly say that meter running there in your boardroom in Calgary, how do we get involved in that? And this is truly from the discussions that we have talked about because I'm a realist. I'm a guy that will go out of my comfort zone. I'm a Chief that will try and bring economic sovereignty, hope to our people, that we could remove addiction from reserves, remove homelessness, remove suicide, that our kids can enjoy a fresh 10/12 room with fresh paint as well one day. So to Enbridge, from our heart, the First Nations and also our Métis brothers, we are walking along with you. And for believing that something good can happen together we wish nothing but good things for our partnership today. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Chief Desjarlais. Now I'll call upon Chairperson, Stan DeLorme, of the Buffalo Lake Métis settlement.

Thank you very much. Good morning or good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Well, it is a good day. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Premier. First of all, I stand before you here today as a very proud Métis person from the Buffalo Métis Settlement. I'm also glad on the Métis Settlements having trust in me to represent the 4 Eastern Métis settlements here today and being involved with this honorable process that we are going through and we've come through. And I'd also tip my hat to the negotiating team. One of the young guys obviously eager to get things done. Unfortunately, time didn't permit me to spend as much time as I needed to with that group. But things rolled along as part of the discussions and the negotiations are concerned. Like I said, I stand before you are here today to say to the Premier, thank you very much, Premier, for introducing the AIOC. Minister Wilson, thank you very much for Harpen and -- at -- with the way you have with the AIOC. And I know we had several meetings and discussion economic development, and AIOC always came up. And as well as Enbridge, thank you for bringing this forward to the 23 communities. Hopefully, the other industry players are paying attention at this point in time. I think you've set the bar. You've set the bar high enough so that no one can deny it. And thanks to the AIOC, appreciate your input, appreciate your help and appreciate you working along with the 23 communities that have come before you. I think for us, this is not only a historical day, but as well as a beneficial deal for the 4 Eastern settlements. And I don't say that lightly. I say that because the funding is needed, like any other, community on the needs that are there with all areas, education, health, housing, you name it. And we're definitely not exempt from any of those issues that are -- that prevail elsewhere. And I'd also like to say thanks for my counsel for the support that they've given myself and being involved with this process. I think we can definitely tip our hats to the other leadership as well from the other settlements. So with that, we definitely have come through a lot of hurdles with our strive to not only maintain what we currently have, but as well as looking at the economic development part of it in our communities. And this is definitely a major help towards that. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, for being out here today.

Thank you, Chairperson DeLorme. Now I'd like to call upon Chana Martineau, CEO of the Alberta Indigenous Opportunity Corporation.

Thank you. I'm one of the few people under 6 feet tall here today. Hello, everyone, and thank you for the warm welcome, [indiscernible]. What a truly historic and monumental day for all of the parties involved. I think you can all just feel the emotion in the room. On behalf of everyone at AIOC, I want to first extend our sincere congratulations to all 23 indigenous and Métis communities, the team at Athabasca Indigenous Investments and everyone at Enbridge, on this precedent-setting announcement. Congratulations. I do want to take a pause here and just thank the vision of Premier Kenney and Minister Wilson and many of the others here for creating the organization that the AIOC is the vehicle that has enabled these communities to participate at this level in this transaction. When the AIOC was created in 2019, major capital projects like the one announced today are exactly what was envisioned for our corporation to support, the large-scale, capital-intensive collaborative projects that have the ability to become major revenue drivers for indigenous communities in Alberta. These communities may not otherwise have been able to access the kind of capital required to facilitate equity share ownership in projects of this size and magnitude. In our almost 3 years of operations, AIOC has continuously championed indigenous prosperity and the impacts that these kinds of projects can bring to industry partners, indigenous communities and Métis settlements across the province. This benefits all Albertans. It is days like today that remind us and reinforce the why behind what we do at AIOC to create generational change to bring real economic prosperity to indigenous and Métis communities across the province to benefit all Albertans. We know that this province is better when everyone has a seat at the table. And we hope that today is seen as another step in the right direction along the road to reconciliation, I think now finally called in Alberta reconcile action. We will continue to support uplift and champion the indigenous and Métis communities across this wide province. It is now my distinct pleasure to welcome Justin Bourque, CEO of Willow Lake Métis Nation and President of Athabasca Indigenous Investments, to the podium.

Thank you very much, Chana. And don't worry, I'm the other person here that's under 6 foot, so you're not alone. I'll start off. I want to thank the media for your time here today and coming to join us on this monumental day. I'll also like to thank my partners today. And sharing their words, Premier Kenney, again, very honored to be able to share a podium with you and to be able to speak at the same venue. And it is Likewise, as Al and Premier has shared, the most biggest moment of my career as well to be able to bring this forward, so thank you. Truly historic day today as we announced this landmark partnership between 23 indigenous communities and Enbridge. It's also historic because 23 communities have come together and built a new partnership and a new entity called the Athabasca indigenous investments, which is the partnership built with inclusion and impact at the forefront and leads the way for financial solvency for our people, and it sets the stage for future investment opportunities. Our communities are unique and diverse in nature, yet share in aspects of beliefs, values and cultures. We have shared these traditional lands for generations. Communities geographically separated are now connected, literally connected by the physical pipes in the ground, which intersect our community's traditional lands, and connected that this partnership provides us all a way forward. Environmental policy and stewardship is driving towards decarbonization across all industries. The growing concern of climate change has had on global resource security and future forecasts, a sombering reality of the changing world as we know it. But for a meeting. Our way forward is more than just the capital E in ESG. While society waits for the government and industry to make the adjustments necessary to ensure sustainability, there is an urgent need to localize economies, empower adoption to communities, resilience and do what we can with inclusive focus on the S and the G of the ESG. And I believe that this partnership shows exactly that. In the industry, there are arguments that the E is tangible while S and G can somewhat be hard to quantify. After today, my friends, experts will turn to our partnership an example of what the tangible results the S and G can provide. Our partnership provides indigenous people throughout our Athabasca region a direct ownership stake that sets a stage for accountable stewardship, forging our new future together. But make no mistake, none of this would have been possible today had it not been for the strong corporate governance of Enbridge. Their desire for partnership can be seen through the many enhancements necessary to bring 23 indigenous communities to a transaction such as this, and I congratulate them on achieving their goal of partnering with 23 communities. I thank Enbridge for their commitment and their leadership. But I also thank the 23 communities that have worked so hard to make today a reality. Consistent with our 7 second teachings that guide us and the principal of 7 generations, we are proud to announce our collective partnership and ownership of these 7 pipelines, which I believe have an enormous impact on our people for many years to come. I'm proud of what we've accomplished here today, and I believe we all should be proud of what we've accomplished. I look forward to our collective way forward like partners.

Thank you, Justin, and thank you, everyone. We'll now field some questions both from here in the room and online. I'd ask, given the importance of today's announcement, that you limit your questions to the subject at hand today's announcement. If you have other questions for the Premier, you can direct them to the Premier's office. If you have questions for the Enbridge team then please feel free to reach out rather to the media relations team. So with that, I will -- and before we kick it off, I'll ask that you identify yourself, your affiliation and who you'd like to ask the question to. Are there any questions in the room first?

Well, I think that it's probably been decades. Our belief is we never surrendered the natural resources. When we signed the treaty with the Crown, it was to adapt to the plow, that means 6 inches. So it's been a long time coming, and -- it's probably been decades, I would say. Well, we've been in the business since 1967, probably because an oil and gas band at the peak, we were 10,000 barrels. We sell power to Strathcona Energy, which was once [indiscernible] and then Cona, another deal brokered through the AIOC. We're actually talking wind, and we're actually looking at the dealing with the big 6 and the carbon capture in the Coal Lake region.

Exactly right, Chief. And the renewable projects can be financed through the AIOC. As you know, there are a number of proposals for major hybrid projects in this part of Alberta. And at least 2 or 3 of them have included groups of First Nations and indigenous communities to participate as well. Now they haven't gone to full final deal structuring and final investment decisions. But if and when they do so, I fully expect that those nations will be coming to AIOC for backstop. So you've heard me say before, I think we may be looking at upwards of $30 billion of investments in low-emitting hydrogen projects, primarily in the Edmonton region in the balance of this decade, in addition to something in the range of $30 billion of low emitting petrochemical projects. And all of that potentially attached to something like $30 billion of investment or more in carbon capture and storage infrastructure. And every one of those projects involves a major Canadian or a multinational company with the kind of financial sophistication that Enbridge has brought to this. So I -- AIOC will be there to facilitate all of that, which is really putting Alberta on hyperdrive in terms of energy transition.

Sorry, I just also wanted to add to that, too. From my perspective, it's been an evolution of a relationship between indigenous communities, industry, government so too with their society and awakening realization of -- in residential schools and where we've shifted to date. This is just another one of those milestones in an evolution. The relationship between indigenous communities and industry has been there for decades. We've been working through it for decades. I'm not saying it's been great for decades, but today, it's a day to move forward on and a really important day in that evolution of those relationships that are helped I cannot miss this opportunity. What this really is saying, I think, in terms of your question, is this type of structure and approach and collaboration can unlock value. When you really get down to the energy transition, it's not just about how much fossil-fuel production there is it's about all the sources of supply that are going to be needed in the years ahead. And what does that take? It takes infrastructure. Any way you look at it, any type of energy supply requires infrastructure to get from point A to point B. And so what we're doing here today, it gives us confidence that we've got a model of collaboration that can work. And I think it really unlocks the value through partnership. Why don't we turn it to the operator for.

Emma [indiscernible], Global Mail.

Just first off the bat, I just want to check the technicalities here. I think you said -- and I think this might be Jason. I think you said it was a $0.25 billion backstop from the province. And can you confirm that? And also where else is the financing coming from here? How is that working?

I'll get Chana Martineau to answer that.

I will specifically speak to the AIOC involvement in the financing portion of the transaction. It's Chana Martineau, Emma. The AIOC participated via a loan guarantee on the $250 million piece of the loan that the indigenous community is used to fund this investment.

Just to complete the other part of the total value there. The rest of it essentially is done through what we call a private placement. So it's like a bond of offering that's done with investors, and that was completed earlier this week. So that makes up the remainder of the $1.1 billion.

Perfect. And just question -- I suppose it's for Chief or Dan or Jason, one of you guys. or all of you, if you want. You talked a lot about accountability when it comes to the pipeline. And I'm wondering if you can speak more to what that actually looks like, especially around environmental accountability and the energy transition. I know you touched a bit on this on the last question, but just if you can expand.

I apologize -- do you mind repeating that question again?

Yes, sure. No worries. When you're talking about accountability in the pipeline, now that there's a partnership that owns it, can you speak more to what that looks like on an environmental front? And when it comes to the energy transition, how you hold Enbridge accountable, for example, and what that looks like from your perspective with the new consortium?

Yes. Thank you for repeating the question. I appreciate that for context. As indigenous peoples, I think it's well known, we hold ourselves in high regard to be stewards of the land. We are land users. We are reliant on the land in all aspects of our historical and still today. So in terms of an environmental importance, I think it's at the very height of the spectrum for a lot of indigenous communities. This partnership in general, provides a completely different platform that we've never had in terms of engagement, in terms of discussion and in terms of being able to hold accountable. I would say we now look to move forward today as partners. So in terms of holding environmental accountability, we have discussions as partners instead of stakeholders. And I think that's the important piece that we -- I would like to highlight is part of your question.

Emma, did you have a follow-up? If not.

No.

Okay. Perfect. We'll go to the room then. Any questions? in the room? No? We do have one.

Yes. Thank you for that. I think that it's a gesture of goodwill, and this is what we want. We want to be at the table. We want to be engaged, not just consulted and not just, again, rushing for 2 months. We need to look at long term. We need to look at sustainability. And I, too, looking forward to working along with Enbridge. Just sitting there, we talked about a green pipeline. How do we turn it into a green pipeline. Now we're partners, I have to be accountable, too. And we have to look at ways and how many people know that these pipelines are double lines when they cross underneath a waterway or they go around animal firewalls and stuff like that. But I think that this is what we wanted as First Nations people is to be at the table and to have the ability to be owners is important. And -- again, it takes the government of Alberta to put something together like this. As a chief and as a leader of the province or a Métis settlement, we're tasked to pull your people along. And this is one way that we will pull all our people along, even the ones that are struggling with an addiction, you have to pull them along. And you know what, this has been a long time coming, and we're just looking forward to moving forward with Enbridge. And it's a template that I hope other industry partners will use. Thank you very much for that question.

I think questions like that definitely assist and help out in our endeavors to become players within the industry itself. Just to bring to your attention, you asked whether or not we were surprised about being invited to this project, not necessarily. We as well had a kick at the can, if you want to call it that. If you remember the Gateway pipeline that was introduced -- must have been a decade ago, I think it was. We were one of the communities that was approached by Enbridge at the time to participate in the -- not only in the construction but as well as the equity part of it. And when this came along here, we definitely were tickled pink to be asked to come on board with the project and -- not project, but the whole process, I'll say. That's why I said the bar has been set for Enbridge, by Enbridge, okay? To -- for us, on Métis settlement land anyway, to as well bring attention to the other industry players that are nickel and diming us currently as we speak here today. And I think this sends a loud message. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Are there any other questions here in the room? No, all right. So with that, I think -- there is another question. Go ahead, operator.

[indiscernible], Calgary Herald.

This is a question for Al Monaco. Al, can you explain why was the name Rocket was chosen as the code name for this project? And separately, this, in your mind, is this the new model that Enbridge will pursue on all of its projects in terms of ownership?

This first one is actually the tougher question. The project Rocket really is meant to symbolize the fact that we want to move up. We want to move forward. I mentioned earlier in my remarks to the question that we've sort of gradually built ourselves up to this point. We started with consultation and accommodation, we moved up to the various layers of engagement with indigenous groups, and this is really the pinnacle. So I think a Rocket exemplifies that we're rising up. Is it the model, well, we would sure like it to be? When you think about -- I mean, you've heard it here today. There are many, many benefits of what we've done. But the real price, as I said earlier, is how we can unlock value for indigenous groups and our own economy in Canada by partnering with indigenous groups to essentially be able to proceed with infrastructure that we dearly need in this country, not just this province. Whether it's a low carbon opportunity -- you heard about renewables, which, by the way, to go to the previous question, the company has committed to net zero. But what does that mean day-to-day? It means, for example, on these pipelines potentially powering them with electricity, particularly from solar farms. So this is all part of the matrix that we're putting together here. It takes great partners. It takes a collection of collaboration to come together and build something, whether it's low carbon or conventional resources, yes, we'd like this to be the model, both on this side of the border and south of the border. Again, just to make a point one more time, infrastructure is key to either of those sources of supply. And we need to unlock that, and this is a good way to do that.

Chris, did you have a follow-up?

Yes, I have a question for Justin. I'm curious on what other projects the group is looking at right now in terms of the energy and energy transition. And does he believe that other projects can proceed without an ownership component in play?

Yes. Thanks for that question. I would say the Athabasca Indigenous Investments was created specifically to partner with Enbridge on this partnership and to bring prosperity to our communities. Now that being said, are indigenous communities out there looking to explore opportunities to invest in the resource development? Absolutely. I think every community out there has a varying degree of capacity understanding and motives into why and where they want to invest in. I would say that this -- we've been saying multiple times, this partnership is historic and its landmark and it is the way of a model for the way forward. I think a lot of industry both oil and gas and other industries out there will look to this partnership at exactly that. The model to look to. They may change and they may look different. But I think that to go forward, and I think maybe to highlight the answer to the last part of your question there, will new projects come forward without indigenous ownership? I hope not. I hope that today is a bit of -- today's historic moments and the partnerships that have been created use an example outward into the industry going forward. And I hope that all new developments that happen on traditional indigenous lands include those traditional indigenous people in that ownership.

Chris, I just thought I'd add a comment here. I know that the AIOC is working on a number of other prospective transactions to support. They have now committed about $450 million of the initial $1 billion of credit that we made available to indigenous communities through the corporation. And we've always been willing to expand that amount in the future if there is suitable demand. I have to commend the AIOC. When we created them, we wanted to be clear that these had to be commercially viable projects. And so they put a lot of rigor into analyzing these deals. Sometimes it's moved more slowly than I would like, but I'm willing to forgive all of that today. Part of the vision here, though was -- let me just back up a step. When I announced the idea to create this $1 billion fund in the spring of 2019, cast your mind back to that. We've been through 4 or 5 years of recession economic decline, high and stubborn unemployment and I'll be very blunt. I was concerned that there might be a backlash or negative backlash from unemployed folks saying, why are you doing this or indigenous communities while we're out here unemployed. And I said at the time, and I want to repeat this to maybe some Albertans who don't -- maybe there's some people wondering what's this all about. Most people aren't. If we're going to have a future as a province, where our largest industry, we need pipelines built. And we will not get pipelines built without the full participation of First Nations and indigenous people, period. Full stop. And the most effective way to ensure that participation is as equal partners with an ownership stake. That's the part of the vision and to sort of people who wonder, this is not a handout. This is truly a handout into complex deals, which can create potentially tens and tens of billions of dollars of economic advantage and employment for Albertans. I've said to the Prime Minister on several occasions that we've encouraged at the federal government to accelerate discussions with the 3, now I think 2, consortia of First Nations interested in taking an ownership stake on the Trans Mountain expansion. And I've said that we are prepared to help underwrite that through the AIOC, for example. The Feds have gone more slowly on those discussions than we would have liked. But I think you'll see -- and really, I think this is the takeaway today. Enbridge has seized the opportunity. The First Nations have always been there with their hand extended. AIOC is up to bridge the gap in the capital markets, and we now have clearly demonstrated a new model what I think will likely be replicated many times to come.

We have time for one more fast question, and we'll turn to the operator for that.

Rod Nickel, Reuters.

Question is for Al. Al, I think I heard you say that you want to do partnerships like this across the entire North American system. Does that include the main line? And how much of it are you open to selling in a partnership like this?

Too early to tell. That's the short answer. I think -- look, we've got a plethora of assets in North America. We're the largest energy midstream company on the continent. And so that spawns a lot of opportunities. We've got assets in numerous states and provinces. So it's all a potential I don't want to get specific about which assets would be under consideration. It really depends on a lot of things. But certainly, the team and the theory and what we're trying to do here overall as far as what the premium just said, is part of the equation going forward. That's the key.

Was there a fast follow-up?

No, that's fine.

Okay. With that, we'll close off the Q&A. I want to thank media for your patience. Thank you to our participants for here in the room. We're going to have a very quick photo off, and I'll ask the speakers to stick around for that. If there are any follow-up questions, please look for you to reach out to the Enbridge Media Relations team. And thanks once again for participating.