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14 Tuesday August 4 2015 POLITICS ABORIGINAL 684-113 NNSL NJ Are you a high performance athlete who requires financial assistance The Northwest Territories High Performance Athlete Grant Program may provide you with the assistance you need to excel at the highest level in your sport. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs MACA and the Sport North Federation are now accepting applications from qualifying athletes until September 11 2015 with final documentation received by October 16 2015. To be eligible for a grant you must Be a member in good standing of a National or Territorial Sport Organization Be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant Be a Northwest Territories resident Not be employed on a full-time basis over 20 hours per week and Not be receiving remuneration from any professional sport league or team. For further information including application forms and program details please visit www.maca.gov.nt.ca or www.sportnorth.com or contact Damon Crossman Manager Sport and Recreation Programs Municipal and Community Affairs Tel 867 873-7757 E-mail damon_crossmangov.nt.ca Bill Othmer Sport Manager Sport North Tel 867 669-8336 E-mail bothmersportnorth.com Manufacturer Model Serial Customer Amount Owing Stihl MS291C 173440882 Gordon Yakeleya 868.46 Arctic Cat 300 Quad Not Available Ron Ruttle 224.05 Polaris 600 Switchback Motor Only Stewart Nadli 2882.54 Ski-doo 600 Renegade 2BPSUJCB8CV000250 Joseph OReilly 360.61 Honda 70 Motorbike JH2DE02218K00245 Richard Simon 1500.00 Husqvarna 365SP 00-4700314 Johnathan Yakeleya 383.91 Husqvarna 372XPG 4000033 Johnathan Yakeleya 92.01 Under the Mechanics Lienholders Act the following units will be forwarded for sale at auction if the outstanding accounts are not paid in full StorageCharges NOTIncluded Monster Recreational Products Ltd. 926 Mackenzie Highway Hay River NT Phone 867-874-2771 Toll Free 1-866-327-0717 www.monsterrec.com For more information please contact By MEAGAN WOHLBERG While indigenous people across Alberta are cheering recent moves by Premier Ra- chel Notleys NDP govern- ment towards implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples UNDRIP one lawyer says she has her work cut out for her in dismantling the de- cades spent constructing an industry-biased consul- tation regime. Lawyer Larry Innes of Olthuis-Kleer-Townshend has represented Alberta First Nations in their ght against oilsands projects typically in cases versus the govern- ment alleging inadequate consultation. He said the provinces current approach to Aborig- inal consultation is combat- ive framing First Nations as adversaries rather than treaty partners - a para- digm reinforced over 40 years of Progressive Con- servative rule in the prov- ince in which the Crown views land issues more like a divorce settlement than a marriage. Those are two very dif- ferent interpretations of the treaties that have taken root very deeply Innes said. Getting past that will re- quire at minimum a new government to say very clearly what their views are in terms of the purpose of the treaties the intent of UNDRIP and get us out of this transactional type dialogue. Notley recently issued a letter to cabinet outlining her vision for partnership with indigenous people in the province which asks minis- ters to begin the reviews nec- essary to start meshing the principles of UNDRIP with Alberta law. While Innes gives Notley the benefit of the doubt in terms of her intentions he says more will need to be done to ensure the tyranny of the bureaucracy doesnt thwart her attempts to im- prove relations with First Nations and Mtis in the province. The people who built the current system will be resistant to change Innes warned. I dont envy Not- ley...Moving from a narrow view to an expansive view of Aboriginal consultation is tough. Three main changes needed Innes Innes believes there are three big picture items the Alberta government can take on to implement the key principle of UNDRIP which hinges on getting First Nations free prior and in- formed consent before ap- proving industrial projects starting with the land use planning process. The Lower Athabasca Regional Plan LARP for example sets out a man- agement scheme for the oilsands area and has been contested since the start by affected First Na- tions. Rather than using the Crowns fiduciary duties to First Nations as a starting point Innes said the Al- berta government based the land use plan around what areas need to be open for development thereby catering to industry first. If the Crown was doing its job right it would start the planning process from its treaty commitments first that is what lands need to be maintained in an intact state so that treaty rights can be prac- ticed meaningfully in the future he said. Secondly Innes said the onus needs to be shifted onto industry to get the consent of First Nations be- fore moving forward with projects. The government should be saying if you want a li- cence from us you have to demonstrate that you have the consent of First Nations and have addressed their concerns not that you met with them the requisite num- ber of times. Obtaining con- sent would radically change the game he said. Finally he said the regula- tory process needs to be re- formed in a way that builds toward consent. Rather than spending massive amounts of money on projects that dont have the prospect of consent - like those falling on sacred sites for exam- ple - Innes said the process should be refined to weed those out. Doing so however would require Notley to reframe the discourse so that it views First Nations as landowners and industry as tenants on that land Innes said. Though Notley has asked her ministers to consult with indigenous people during their departmental reviews Innessaidshe isgoingtohave to look further than her min- isters for ways in which UN- DRIP can be implemented. Sheshouldbetakingexpert adviceandreachingoutacross the country to nd out whats workedelsewherehesaid.Im worried that without casting her net wider and relying on experience from other juris- dictions she wont move the needle as far as she wants to. Despite the challenges Innes said he believes imple- menting UNDRIP in Alberta is possible. Notley has a huge oppor- tunity to move the yardstick signicantly he said. Alberta has long way to go in implementing UNDRIP Lawyer fears tyranny of bureacracy will undermine improvements PhotoChrisSchwarzGovernmentofAlberta Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is undertaking a review of government policies in order to begin implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the provincial level.