Pipeline route near the Enoch Cree Nation reserve west of Edmonton.
Photographer: Jason Franson for Bloomberg BusinessweekFor Sale: Trudeau’s Oil Pipeline. Wanted: Indigenous Buyers
A sale of Trans Mountain could make restitution for Canada’s colonial past—and turn some of the oil industry’s staunchest opponents into partners.
Strolling between the banks of glowing slot machines, Robert Morin seems very much like he’s still in charge at the River Cree Resort and Casino. Security guards nod, dealers say hello, and a cocktail waitress offers a chipper “Good morning, boss.” Morin reminds her he’s no longer the boss, but the waitress disagrees. “He will always be the boss of this place,” she says before setting off to serve patrons already gambling at 10 a.m.
The casino, located on the Enoch Cree Nation reserve on the western outskirts of Edmonton, is the Canadian province of Alberta’s largest gambling establishment. Morin is Enoch Cree himself, one of Canada’s 1.67 million Indigenous people, and he spent 15 years running the place. He’s proud that it helps fund housing, day care, mental health services, and adult education for the 2,566 members of the Enoch Cree Nation.