Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
LutselKewantsdiamondcompaniestohelpxsocialillsFirstNationsaysindustryhascontributedtodrugscrimeandsuicidePoliticsFirstNationsPoliticsFirstNations7TuesdayMarch112014ByMEAGANWOHLBERGTheLutselKeDeneFirstNationLKDFNisaskingoneoftheterritorysdiamondcompaniestoassistthecom-munityinaddressingahostofsocialproblemsitsayshavebeenexacerbatedbyindus-trialdevelopment.InalettersenttotheMacken-zieValleyEnvironmentalIm-pactReviewBoardlastmonthLKDFNrequestedthatDo-minionDiamondCorp.whichownstheEkatiminesupporttheremotey-incommunityinmitigatingthecrimeaddic-tionssuicideanddomesticvio-lencethathaveincreasedsincetheadventofmining.DominioniscurrentlyseekingapprovalforitsJay-CardinalprojectwhichwouldseetwoadditionalkimberlitepipesminedattheEkatisiteextendingtheminelifeby10to20years.WhiletheFirstNationsaiditissatisedwiththemajor-ityofDominionstermsofreferencefortheprojectitwantstoseeanassessmentintowhyafteralmost20yearsofminingdevelopmentthesocialsituationinLutselPhotoLesliePhilippKeiscontinuallydegradingalongwithamitigationplan.ItscleartoLKDFNthatwearenottakingadvantageofemploymentandbusinessopportunitiesforvariousrea-sonsbutwhatismoreim-portanttoLKDFNmembersisthatwearelivinghappyandhealthylivesstatestheletterfromMikeTollisLKDFNsmanagerofwild-lifelandsandenvironment.Tollissaidgovernmentsur-veysaswellascommunityobservationsindicateariseincrimeratesviolencealco-holanddrugabusesuicideanddomesticviolencethatshareatimelinewithmin-ingdevelopments.ThosestatisticssawLutselKessocialworkersbandtogetherinoppositiondur-ingthelatestpublichear-ingsonDeBeersGahchoKudiamondmineprojectinDecember2012arguingthatanotherminewillonlyincreasethesocialunrestbeingexperiencedbythecommunitywhichisunderresourcedtodealwiththedrugsandcashflowthatarebroughthomebywork-ersfromthemines.InLutselKespecicallythebenetsofemploymentanddisposableincomethattheminingoperationsenthusias-ticallypromoteareoftenhin-drancestocommunitysocialprosperitywellnessandfam-ilycohesionTolliswrote.ThoughthedrafttermsofreferencerequirethecompanytodocumentsocioeconomicconditionsandinformationonwellbeingincludinglocalservicesandinfrastructuretheFirstNationwantsDo-miniontodomorebywork-ingwiththecommunitytocorrecttheissues.LKDFNdoesnotbelieveitisunreasonabletorequestthatDominiongobeyondsimplyreportingontheexist-ingsocialenvironmentinthecommunity...andberequiredtoproperlyanalyzeandprovideplanstomitigatetheadverseimpactsofdevelopmentsonthelivesofcommunitymem-berstheletterstates.Werenotrequestingthatindustrytaketheroleofgovernmentsorcrosstheboundaryofgovernmentre-sponsibilitybutifthede-velopercanassistthecom-munityinaddressingtheseproblemsascollaboratorshumanhealthandwellnessinthecommunitywouldbegreatlyimproved.Dominiondidnotrespondtonumerousrequestsforcomment.ByMEAGANWOHLBERGTheLutselKeDeneFirstNationisdemandingafairshareofresourcerevenuesforthecommunityregardlessofwhetherornotitsignsontodevolution.ChiefDoraEnzoesentalettertoNWTPremierBobMcLeodlastweekaccusingthegovernmentofusingthepromiseofresourcerevenuesasaweapontoinictpoliticalpressureandinuenceoverFirstNationsintheterritory.ShesaidLKDFNdeservesaplaceattheintergovernmen-talforumbetweenAboriginalgovernmentsandtheGNWTafterdevolutioneveniftheydonotsignontothedevolu-tionagreement.AsitstandsonlyAborigi-nalgovernmentspartytothedevolutionagreementareal-lowedtoaccessapieceofthe25percentofresourcerevenuespromisedtothemandbepartoftheforum.EnzoesaidtheFirstNationisworriedthatrevenuesduetotheirmembershipfordevel-opmentsontheirlandswillbewithheldorgivenawaytooth-ersinsteadwhichshecalledwrongandunethical.TheLutselKeDeneFirstLutselKeaccusesGNWTofbullyingondevolutionNationwillnotbepressuredintosupportingtheDevolutionAgreement.Wefundamentallyobjecttothemannerinwhichdevolutionandresourcerev-enuesharingisbeingimple-mentedandtothepressurewhichisbeingbroughttobearonustoeithersignonorstepasideasthesefundamentalchangesoccurshewroteinthelettertoMcLeod.Resourcerevenuesshouldnotbedeployedasaweapontoinictpoliticalpressureandinuence.Theyarenotyourgovernmentstohandoutac-cordingtoyourwhimreward-ingthosewhoagreewithyouandpunishingthosewhodonot.Theserevenuesarelargelyderivedfromdevelopmentsonourlandsandyourgovernmentmustbeaccountablefortheirfairdistributiontoourpeople.Wedemandourfairshare.EnzoesaidLKDFNhasoutstandingconcernsaboutdevolutionnamelythattheprocessisnegativelyimpact-ingtheFirstNationsongoingnegotiationswiththefederalgovernmentontheirunn-ishedlandclaim.ShesaidtheFirstNationisopentoworkingwiththeGNWTingoodfaithinthefuture.Requeststothepremierforcommentwereunsuccessful.LutselKeisamemberoftheAkaitchoFirstNationswhoalongsidetheDehchoFirstNationsarethelasttore-mainoutsideofthedevolutionagreement.Resourcerevenuesshouldnotbedeployedasaweapontoinictpoliticalpressureandinuence.Theyarenotyourgov-ernmentstohandoutaccordingtoyourwhimrewardingthosewhoagreewithyouandpunishingthosewhodonot.ChiefDoraEnzoeLutselKeDeneFirstNationTheLutselKeDeneFirstNationsaysbenetstoutedbydiamondminingcompaniesareoftenhindrancestopeopleswellbeinginthecommunitywhichisimpactedbyrisingcrimeandaddictionrates.