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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery added 36 cents to $91.85, while Brent for December added 44 cents to $104.72, both benchmarks notching a weekly gain (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $26.80 to WTI, up from a discount of $29.40. Natural gas for November added five cents to $3.21. The TSX energy index added 4.89 points to close at 459.97.

That did not take long. The proposed Pacific Link oil pipeline is facing its first, inevitable legal challenge, only a week after Ottawa listed it as a project of national interest. The Cold Lake First Nations (CLFNS, the governing body for a 3,000-member indigenous band in the Cold Lake area of Alberta) has filed a Federal Court application demanding that the listing be stripped. A statement from the CLFNS claimed that Ottawa "moved ahead with the national interest designation without meaningful consultation."

The sticking point, as is so often the case, is the meaning of meaningful. Chief Kelsey Jacko, in an interview with CBC, said the CLFNS supports responsible energy development, but he found it "very troublesome" that his group had been "left out of the equity talks." Ottawa stated in its Oct. 1 designation announcement that indigenous communities would be able to own a minimum 10-per-cent interest in the pipeline (financed through federal and provincial indigenous loan guarantee programs). "They've been consulting all these nations around us, there's over 120 nations that have been consulted, and we've been left out of the talks," said the chief.

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