Community, Aboriginal and Native American Relations

TransCanada is committed to being a good neighbour and to building and maintaining positive relationships with the people who reside near our facilities and pipeline right-of-ways.

Our four core values of Integrity, Collaboration, Responsibility and Innovation are at the heart of our commitment to stakeholder engagement. These values guide us in our interactions with our stakeholders.

TransCanada generally defines stakeholders as those people or groups who significantly affect, or who may be affected by, our business activities. We strive to engage stakeholders early, often and respectfully from project development, through to operations and decommissioning.

Engaging with stakeholders means listening, providing accurate information, and responding to stakeholder interests in a prompt and consistent manner. TransCanada uses two-way communication processes with stakeholders to assist us in reaching quality business decisions.

Aboriginal Relations has been an integral part of TransCanada's operations for over 30 years. Our proactive approach to community dialogue is based on three elements: communication, engagement and commitment. We believe it is important to continually communicate with communities, engage on our activities and follow through on our commitments.

Our Aboriginal Relations Policy is guided by principles of trust, respect and responsibility. We work together with Aboriginal communities to find mutually acceptable solutions and benefits.

For example, our Aboriginal Human Resource Strategy was developed to increase Aboriginal employment accessibility and to support our respectful and inclusive work environment. Our Aboriginal Contracting Strategy provides opportunities for Aboriginal businesses to participate in both the construction of new facilities and the ongoing maintenance of existing facilities.

TransCanada will continue to review and adapt our Aboriginal Relations Policy, programs and initiatives to meet the changing needs of our business and Aboriginal communities. While our methods may change, our commitment remains.

As TransCanada’s presence in the United States evolved over the last few years, the corporation has invested resources in the development of internal expertise relating to Native American issues in order to inform an approach that would be of the same high standards as our approach in Canada and adapted to the specificity of the United States’ legal and regulatory landscape. TransCanada’s approach with Native American tribes is based on the same principles as our Aboriginal Relations Policy; it recognizes the diversity and uniqueness of each Tribe, the importance of the land, and the imperative of building relationships based on mutual respect and trust.

Related Information

2009 Corporate Responsibility Report

Learn how we work closely with Aboriginal communities
Aboriginal Relations Policy brochure (3 MB, PDF)
Native American Relations Policy brochure (3 MB, PDF)

Mackenzie Gas Project

TransCanada is providing funding for the Aboriginal Pipeline Group (APG) for this project’s definition phase.