Could a First Nations-led pipeline proposal be a viable alternative to Northern Gateway?

In last weekend's plebiscite in Kitimat, British Columbia, 58 per cent residents voted against the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline. Ultimately, the federal government will decide if Northern Gateway goes ahead. But Calvin Helin thinks he has a better plan that would be less environmentally risky and more likely to get the support of First Nations.

Kitimat would be the last stop in the Northern Gateway pipeline, which would take bitumen from the Alberta oil-sands to the coast of B.C., where it would be put on tankers for export.

• But Calvin Helin has another proposal.Calvin Helin is a lawyer and a member of the Tsimshian First Nation. He is also the President of Eagle Spirit Energy Holdings and he was in Vancouver.

• Janet Holder is the Executive Vice President, Western Access with Enbridge. She's responsible for the overall leadership on the Northern Gateway Pipelines Project. The Spirit Energy alternative doesn't impress her much.

• The company's pipeline proposal also faces strong opposition from many First Nations in B.C. Art Sterritt is the executive director of Coastal First Nations, an alliance of First Nations on the BC coast. He has been outspoken in his criticism of any pipeline. We reached him in Vancouver.
  

• For a sense of whether Calvin Helin's proposal will fly with the oil industry, we were joined by Deborah Yedlin. She's a business columnist for the Calgary Herald and she was in Toronto.

This segment was produced by The Current's Gord Westmacott and Annie Bender.