Hours before Mark Carney addressed the Assembly of First Nations, chiefs voted unanimously to reject the memorandum of understanding regarding new pipelines signed between Ottawa and Alberta.

The chiefs argue the agreement was negotiated without First Nations involvement, despite the federal government's obligation to consult.

On this Wednesday's edition of the Buffalo Roundtable, the panel shared their thoughts on whether the Assembly of First Nations could block any new project.

“It's a joke; it's as simple as that,” said Western Standard columnist Cory Morgan. “If Carney is serious about this, he has to invest political capital and point out the constitutional realities — his constitutional supposed obligations — that First Nations have no veto power in the constitution, nor does the province of B.C.”

If the prime minister is unwilling to say those things, the memorandum of understanding is effectively a “piece of toilet paper,” he said.

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Carney is publicly “saying the opposite,” added host Sheila Gunn Reid. “While [Alberta Premier] Danielle Smith was holding the press conference on the MOU, the press release out of the Prime Minister's Office quite literally said this doesn't happen without the consent of British Columbia or First Nations.”

Chris Scott, an activist with the independence-focused Alberta Prosperity Project, condemned the Assembly of First Nations chiefs for suggesting the answer would always be no to a new pipeline, saying “they're not interested in prosperity or working together or even elevating their own people out of the situation they're in.”

The chiefs were using their authority “as a political weapon,” he added.

“We went from Indigenous consultation to Indigenous led in absolutely no time,” said host Lise Merle. “Indigenous led, and all these chiefs come out and say we want nothing to do with it? OK, well this project is a nothingburger.”

Watch new Buffalo Roundtable panels every Wednesday at 11 a.m. MT (1 p.m. ET) right here on Rebel News.