By Stephen Mason, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Reconciliation Energy Transition Inc.
Real progress towards reconciliation requires a change in approach to the project process of yesterday. To make reconciliation real, we, as industry, must ensure Indigenous communities have a seat at the economic decision-making table and enjoy real partnerships that take into account Indigenous values.
Reconciliation Energy Transition Inc. (RETI) is a Midstream Development Company that is focussed on bringing material Indigenous equity partnerships into its projects. Our vision is driven by a need to change the conversation with impacted First Nation communities on major infrastructure projects to create more sustainable, fiscally, and socially responsible outcomes for all involved.
We envision a process and structure that moves the conversation from, “We will provide jobs while we are building the infrastructure” to “You should have an opportunity to own a material equity ownership in the Project”.
The East Calgary Carbon Transportation & Sequestration Project
RETI’s approach puts this principle into action by designing energytransition infrastructure that embeds Indigenous ownership from the outset, not as an afterthought. As a Midstream developer advancing carbon transportation and sequestration solutions across Western Canada, RETI is committed to ensuring that economic participation is meaningful, material, and long-term. Our projects connect industrial CO2 sources to secure geological storage while simultaneously creating sustainable revenue pathways for Indigenous nations.
This commitment is already reshaping how major projects move forward: in 2022, RETI was awarded the highly competitive Calgary Carbon Hub Permit, with Siksika Nation at the table during the application phase, a decisive factor in the project’s approval. By integrating Indigenous values, leadership, and equity directly into the development process, RETI is helping redefine what responsible, future-focused energy infrastructure can and should look like.
Highlights of the 2022 award:
• Agreements are in place with leading rail, midstream industrial partners and active engagement with Provincial and Federal governments.
• Ongoing discussions with data centres, industrial emitters, and bio-energy operators, representing a total addressable market of approximately 18M tonnes per year.
Now Is The Time
A testament to where Canada needs to move in working WITH impacted First Nations, getting major projects permitted was represented at the Indian Resource Council Conference in November, titled “Unlock the Pipeline Gridlock”.
The Conference was well attended by Chiefs from Saskatchewan, Alberta & British Columbia. It was incredible timing as the Conference was held at the same time as the Alberta Provincial Government and Canadian Federal Government’s announcement on a new bitumen pipeline Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Danielle Smith and Mark Carney.
The Federal Government’s support for the proposed bitumen pipeline is categorically a huge moment for Alberta. Added, the basis of “showing the world” on the attention of Canada being focussed on clean solutions with maintaining the industrial carbon tax to support the Pathways Project is a significant boost to RETI’s Carbon Sequestration Project.
Some of the key components of the MOU in the CCS aspect are as follows:
- Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program is formally acknowledged as the regulatory framework that will provide long-term certainty for developing CCUS, direct air capture, nuclear infrastructure, and other emissionsreduction technologies needed for a net-zero grid by 2050. This regulatory stability directly strengthens RETI’s project by ensuring its sequestration infrastructure aligns with a federally recognized, future-proof emissions framework.
- The Clean Electricity Regulations (CER) will be suspended in Alberta while a new carbon-pricing agreement—administered through TIER—is negotiated by April 1, 2026, establishing competitive long-term carbon prices and recycling protocols for major emitters. By creating clarity and competitiveness in industrial carbon pricing, this transition supports RETI’s carbon project by improving investment confidence for CO2 capture and transportation infrastructure.
- The parties must determine practical details such as when the effective carbon price begins and how it escalates over time. This price-certainty framework underpins the economics of RETI’s project by reinforcing predictable revenue pathways for longterm sequestration services.
- A new industrial carbon-pricing agreement will include a financial mechanism ensuring both governments maintain longterm commitments, providing industry the certainty needed to achieve emissions-reductions targets. This embedded financial stability directly enhances the viability and longevity of RETI’s East Calgary Carbon Transportation & Sequestration project, supporting sustained carbon-reduction outcomes for participating Indigenous and industry partners.
Recognizing Alberta’s jurisdiction over the TIER system, Canada and Alberta agree to work co-operatively to ensure the Alberta carbon market functions reliably and provides a predictable basis for decision-making by industry and investors. This includes a shared undertaking that following the completion of this MOU, the two governments will work cooperatively to ensure the application of Alberta’s carbon pricing system (including pricing and stringency) is adapted to the specific circumstances of the electricity sector, the oil and gas sector, and other large emitters such as fertilizer and cement sectors.
Canada is entering a pivotal moment where reconciliation, energy transition, and regulatory alignment are finally moving in the same direction—and RETI is positioned at the centre of that shift. By embedding Indigenous equity into carbon-management infrastructure and advancing projects like the East Calgary Carbon Transportation & Sequestration Project, RETI demonstrates how major development can honour community values while meeting national climate commitments. As governments refine carbonpricing frameworks and reaffirm their support for large-scale decarbonization, RETI’s model shows what the future of responsible infrastructure must look like: collaborative, technically rigorous, economically sound, and rooted in true partnership with the First Nations who have always been the stewards of these lands. RETI is ready to facilitate CO2 transportation and Sequestration for the greater Calgary Region.
