A First Nations consortium is inching closer to putting an offer on the table to buy all or part of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Whispering Pines First Nation Chief Mike LeBourdais says the last piece of the puzzle was getting the financing put together. As of ten days ago TD Securities is on board, and LeBourdais says the group feels a sense of urgency to get an offer on the table.

“We were actually working on the timeline of May 22 to complete the consultation with Natural Resources Canada, so that was our timeline, and we’re still going to keep and adopt that,”he said.

“That’s because when the House gets up for the summer, things stop. It’s already starting to slow down.”

The federal government had previously said they will delay their decision until June 18 in order to wrap up consultations with Indigenous groups.

As for an open letter from the Union of BC Indian Chiefs encouraging the First Nations consortium to abandon the pipeline deal, LeBourais says it is full speed ahead.

“I’d like to thank UBCIC for their concern about my financial well-being at my band,” LeBourdais said. “However, I do have financial experts that are advising me on how this will work.”

LeBourdais is hopeful that a deal will be reached before this fall’s federal election.