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PoliticsFirstNations9TuesdayAugust272013Chiefcallsforfive-yearmoratoriumonoilsandsByMEAGANWOHLBERGForthersttimepubliclyandonrecordwiththegovern-mentAthabascaChipewyanFirstNationACFNChiefAllanAdamarticulatedade-mandforave-yearmorato-riumonoilsandsexplorationanddevelopmentnorthoftheFirebagRiverinnortheasternAlbertalastweekbeforeapro-vincialreviewpanel.AdamwhopresentedoralevidenceatahearingoftheAlbertaEnergyRegulatorAERregardingaproposalbyTeckResourcestodrill138exploratoryoilsandswellsinthePoplarPointareanorthofFortMcMurraysaidneithertheboardnorCanadaorAl-bertahavetheauthoritytograntcompanieslicensetouseACFNtraditionalterri-toryforexploration.Ourancestorsdidnotsignthetreatytocedeandsurren-derlands.Wewantave-yearmoratoriumonanyfurtherdevelopmentandwewantacomprehensivestudyoftheselands.AmoratoriumwillnotcrippleCanadahesaidcall-ingforreclamationtotakeplacepriortoanymoredevelopment.Thecleanupmuststartnow.Reclamationdoesnotwork.Tecksaidveto100yearsjusttoreclaimtheirexplorationsites.WhatrightdoesTeckhavetosaythattheirprojectdoesnotaf-fecttheACFNWewillbetheonesmostimpactedbytheirprojectweassertourrightstoreclaimthelandsinquestionthatCanadaholdsintrust.ACFNcommunicationscoordinatorErielDerangersaidthebigissuefortheFirstNationisthehealthofRo-landLakewoodbisonfoundintheregionwhereTeckhasproposeddrilling.Theherdisthelastremainingdisease-freepopulationofwoodbisonwhichareconsideredaspe-ciesatriskintheprovince.Secondshesaidistheissueofreclamationandcumulativeeffectsraisedbythechief.Hundredsofthousandsofacresoflandhavebeendis-ruptedanddisturbedbyproj-ects.TheTeckreclamationproj-ectalonetheysaycouldtakeanywherebetweenfourand100yearstofullyreclaimwhichisaridiculousnumberthatFirstNationsaresupposedtojustsitbackandacceptshesaid.Thetrackrecordofindus-tryisIthink0.01percentoflandhasbeenfullyreclaimedintheregionandyettheyrestillgrantingmoreandmoreleasesandapplicationsforproj-ectsintheregion.Weneedtobefocusingonreclamationnotnewprojects.AdamwaspreviouslypartytoaresolutionbyTreaty8chiefscallingforamoratoriumondevelopmentintheregionbackin2008butnospecictimelimitwasgiven.BesidesAdamspresentationACFNbroughtforwardanum-berofeldersandlandusersaswitnessestoattesttochangesandproblemsexperiencedduetoTecksongoingexploratorydrillingprojectsontheirlands.RaymondCardinalandJamesLadouceurcomplainedofhavingtheirsnowmobilesdestroyedbyroadsandicebridgesdamagedandmadeunsafebyTecksequipmentwhichtheysaidlimitedtheiraccesstohuntingandabil-itytoprovideforthemselvesandtheirfamilies.TheyhaveexperiencedalotofdisruptionDerangersaid.TheareasarealmostdirectlyacrosstheriverfromthePoplarPointreservethatTeckspro-posedfordevelopment.Evenjustwiththemachinerycominginitsscaringthelargegameawayandmakingitdifcultforthemtoaccesslargegame.Thedrillingwouldonlyexacerbatethoseissues.wwTeckrespondedatthehear-ingsbysayingmanyoftheconcernsraisedbyACFNrefertocumulativeeffectsofoilsandsindustryandarenotspecicallyrelatedtothecompanysownpractices.ThecompanyalsosubmittedcorrespondencewithACFNsIndustryRelationsCorp.IRCobtainedthroughtheFree-domofInformationandPri-vacyFOIPacthighlightingdiscussionsabouttheprojectthatitsaidshowedtherehadbeenconsultationwiththeFirstNationandthuseliminatedtheneedforlastweekshearing.ButDerangersaidformalconsultationnevertookplace.Issuesaroundthedrillingprojecthadbeendiscussedbuthadntbeenformallyconsultedonsotheyweretryingtousethosediscussionsasjustica-tionthatfullconsultationhadactuallyhappenedshesaid.SoofcourseourIRCstaffweretakenabackbyitbecause1theydidntknowthatcor-respondencewasgoingtobeusedasevidenceatalland2theyweremanipulatingcor-respondencetomakeitlookasthoughitwasconsultationwheninfactitwasnt.TeckspokespersonDougBrownsaiditwouldbeinap-propriateforthecompanytocommentoutsideoftheongo-inghearingprocessbutsaidthecompanyisfocusedonensuringourproposeddrill-ingprogramisprotectiveoftheenvironmentandrespectfulofFirstNationsandcommunitiesintheregionandisworkingcooperativelywithbothgovern-mentandFirstNationsthroughthehearingprocess.AlbertasnewAboriginalconsultationpolicycriticizedFirstNationsMtissaynewrulesunderminerightsself-governmentByMEAGANWOHLBERGTheAlbertagovernmentsnewlyproposedrulesforcon-sultationbetweenindustryandAboriginalgroupsarealreadydrawingheavycriti-cismfromFirstNationsandMtisintheprovincewhosayitunderminestheirrights.ThethirddraftconsultationpolicyreleasedsilentlyontheafternoonofFridayAug.16comesafteryearsoftalkswithbothindustryandFirstNationsonhowtoimprovewhatwasagreedtobeafaultysystemandthenewruleswillaffectnearlyeverycompanyseekingtoadvancenewresourceproj-ectsintheprovince.UnderthenewpolicywhichisexpectedtocomeintoeffectthisfallAlbertaplanstosetupasinglewindowofcetoestab-lishstandardsforwhatprojectsrequireconsultationwhichFirstNationsaretobeconsultedonspecicprojectsandwhatlevelofconsultationwillberequired.ThatofcewillalsobetheonlypartyabletoaddresstheadequacyofconsultationintheprovinceasAboriginalgovern-mentswillnolongerbeabletobringquestionsofSection35constitutionallawbeforethenewprovincialenergyregulatorthataccordingtothepolicywasestablishedwithnojurisdictionoverconstitutionalchallenges.ThedutytoconsultrestswiththeCrown.TheResponsibleEnergyDevelopmentActsimplyclariesthattheregulatorcannotdeterminetheadequacyofcon-sultationsaidKevinZaharapresssecretaryforAlbertasAb-originalAffairsMinisterRobinCampbellnotingthatFirstNa-tionswillstillbeabletobringproject-relatedconcernsbeforetheregulatoriftheyareconsid-eredtobedirectlyandadverselyaffectedbythedevelopment.AstepbackwardsForJesseCardinalamem-berofKeepersoftheAtha-bascafromoneofAlbertasMtissettlementsthenewpolicyisastepbackwards.Itseemstobetakingmoreandmorerightsawayshesaidnotingthatthepolicyonlyfo-cusesonrightstohuntshandtrapandmakesnomentionofceremonialorburialgroundsorplacesusedforharvestingberriesormedicines.Cardinalsaidhermaincon-cernstemsfromthefactthatthepolicywilloverrideanyexistingconsultationprotocolsestablishedbyAboriginalgov-ernmentsintheprovince.Al-thoughencouragingcompaniestobeawareofthoseprotocolsitdoesnotrequireproponentstocomplywiththemwhilecon-sultingandnotesthatincasesofconictbetweenprotocolsAl-bertasnewpolicywillprevail.Itsnothonouringself-gover-nanceandthefactthattherearecommunitiesthatalreadyhavetheirownconsultationpoliciesorareintheprocessofcreatingthemshesaid.UndertherulesFirstNationswillbesubjecttonewtimelinesRightnowifacommunityneedstodocertainthingstobeproperlyconsultedlikeTKtraditionalknowledgegather-inganddifferentthingstheylldoupaproposalandtakeitunitsonaprojectbyprojectbasisthelevyenablesthemtoplantheirconsultationac-tivitiesforeachyearontheassumptionofabudgetthatcoverstheircostshesaid.AllFirstNationsinAlbertawillreceivefunding.TheamountswillbebasedonthelevelofconsultationactivityeachFirstNationisrequiredtocarryout.Albertawillbeproposingamethodofcalcu-latingthoseamountsduringengagementsessionswithFirstNationsandindustrythroughthefall.WewanttoensurethatallFirstNationshavethecapacitytodoaproperjobonconsultation.NoconsultationonlandleasesLeasingoflandsorlicens-ingrightstoCrownminer-alscontinuestobeleftoutoftherealmofwhatisconsid-erednecessarygroundsforconsultationdespiterecentcomplaintsbyFirstNationsthatconsultationbetweenin-dustryandAboriginalgov-ernmentsneedstobeginatthelandtenurestage.Lastweekaprovincialhear-ingprocesswastriggeredafterthreeAboriginalgovernments-theAthabascaChipewyanFirstNationMikisewCreeFirstNationandFortChipewyanMtis-alllaunchedchallengestoTeckResourcesproposedexploratorywinterdrillingprogramnorthofFortMcMur-raywhichwasissuedleasesbytheprovincialgovernmentwithoutconsultation.Cardinalsaidtrueconsulta-tionaswasspokentoduringMikisewsprecedentsettingSupremeCourtvictoryagainsttheCrownin2005shouldbeginthemomentindustrythinksofdevelopingonandaroundindigenousterritory.Wehavewaymoreap-provalsthanwecanhumanlyandenvironmentallykeepupwithandthecommuni-tiesdontndoutuntilafterthefactandthentheyhavetogotocourtoverit...Ifitwasproperconsultationthecom-panywouldbesittingdownwiththecommunitybeforeevengoingtothegovern-mentshesaid.Whilegovernmenthasap-provedthepolicyasitisnowthedepartmenthasindicatedthecorporateandindustry-spe-cicguidelinesremainsubjecttodiscussionandamendment.WewillbeengagingwithleadershipandconsultationstaffofFirstNationsandTreatyorganizationstoworkouteffectiveimplementationmeasuresthroughoutthefallZaharaadded.Thepolicywillcomeintoeffectoncetheen-gagementprocessiscomplete.Ourobjectiveistocompletethisbylatefall.priortobeingnotiedabouttheirinclusionintheconsultationpro-cess.Forprojectswiththepoten-tialforlowadverseimpactsontreatyrightsortraditionalusesAboriginalgovernmentsarerequiredtorespondwithacomprehensivelistingofpoten-tialadverseimpactswithin15workingdaysforthoseprojectstheconsultationofcedecidescouldhavemoresignicantim-pactsFirstNationsaregiven20workingdays.ThepolicyalsocreatesanewfundingmodelwherebyindustrywillbeleviedforfundstoallowFirstNationstoparticipateinconsultationwiththosefundsgoingtothegovernmenttodoleout.Cardinalsaidthatfundingarrangementreinforcesanoutdatedcolonialrelationship.tothecompanyandthecom-panywillgivethemsomuchmoney.Itsunderfundedrightnowsothegovernmentsso-lutionistotakeallthemoneythecompaniesgivethecom-munitiesandthendecidewhogetswhatshesaid.Thatsreallyconcerningbecauseweretakingstepsbackto50yearsagowhenwehadIndianAgents...Theyrejustweakeningselfgovernanceandstrengtheningthatpater-nalisticrelationshipwhichisntgoingtowork.Zaharasaidtheindustrylevywasmeanttoaddresscon-cernsraisedbyFirstNationsabouttheircapacitytoengageinmeaningfulconsultation.RatherthanrequireFirstNationstogenerateoperatingfundsfortheirconsultationItsnothonouringself-governanceandthefactthattherearecommunitiesthatalreadyhavetheirownconsultationpolicies.JesseCardinalKeepersoftheAthabascaPhotoMeaganWohlbergPoliticsFirstNationsACFNChiefAllanAdamspeaksabouthisFirstNationsconcernswithoilsandsdevelopmentattheTarSandsHealingWalkinJuly.