Pipeline consultant had prime spot at Liberal victory rally

A paid consultant for the Energy East pipeline stood just a few feet away from Prime Minister-elect Justin Trudeau Monday night as he made his victory speech in Montreal.

For at least three years, Phil Fontaine has acted as the principal liaison between TransCanada — the company behind the proposed $12-billion pipeline project — and about 150 First Nations communities across Canada.

During the same period, Fontaine has served on the board of directors of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. The non-profit organization awards scholarships to students working on human-rights projects. Justin Trudeau does not sit on the board of the foundation named after his late father, but his brother, Alexandre, is a board member.

Prior to Fontaine’s consulting career, he was elected to three terms as the Assembly of First Nations’ national chief, retiring in 2009 as one of the country’s most respected indigenous leaders. A few months later, he incorporated Ishkonigan Consulting and Mediation Services, which later secured contracts from TransCanada to mediate between the energy company and First Nations over the controversial pipeline project.

Specifically, Fontaine’s firm has helped broker dozens of “participant funding agreements” between aboriginal communities and TransCanada, deals that combined are worth millions of dollars. The agreements have paid for pipeline-impact studies on such traditional practices as hunting and fishing, among other things.