The expanded funding of the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program may pave the way for First Nations communities to acquire equity stakes in major resource projects such as Trans Mountain. This potential shift could empower indigenous communities by providing them with a direct financial interest and decision-making role in a project historically controlled by non-indigenous interests.

The Canadian government has approved a staggering $20 billion loan to support the Trans-Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipeline. Critics argue that this move subsidizes a fossil fuel project at the expense of taxpayers and sustainable energy initiatives, while the pipeline operator signals its expectation to benefit from external political pressures, including tariff threats from the Trump administration.

The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, valued at $24 billion and government-supported, is anticipated to shield Canada's oil market from potential tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, thereby securing energy exports and enhancing national economic resilience.

Trans Mountain has proposed an ownership stake structure that includes debt financing and profit-sharing with 120 Indigenous communities as part of its strategy to facilitate the sale of the pipeline. This initiative is seen as an effort to promote economic reconciliation and support historically marginalized groups.

Trans Mountain Corp, a government-owned entity overseeing the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, is slated to appear at a regulatory hearing in Calgary regarding its request to alter pipeline specifications. The company seeks a variance to install a smaller pipe diameter than initially planned, a move intended to shorten the project schedule by nearly two months. This request comes on the heels of earlier regulatory actions—including environmental non‐compliance issues in a wetland near Abbotsford and a previously approved route deviation despite opposition from local Indigenous groups—raising concerns about potential regulatory capture and compromised oversight.

Trans Mountain has opted for a more disruptive open trenching construction method near Jacko Lake in B.C., after previously agreeing to use a less invasive micro-drilling technique, despite protests from the local Indigenous community who regard the site as sacred.

A UN Committee letter alongside Indigenous leaders' voices has called for an investigation into RCMP actions during the enforcement of pipeline-related injunctions. Critics argue that the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, owned by Canada, is linked to human rights violations against Indigenous communities, raising serious ethical concerns about the project's social and political impacts.