First Nations to be kept in the loop
Two First Nations representatives have been appointed to “a seat and a voice” at Husky Energy’s command centre.
Sheldon Wuttunee and Ed Standing-horn will report from the command centre to First Nations leaders as a result of a meeting called by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) Thursday in North Battleford.
“We now have two of our First Nations representatives who will have a seat and a voice at the Husky command centre and report directly to our leadership and our FSIN organization on everything and anything that is transpiring and any up to date communications that’s needed,” FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said.
Standinghorn is a member of the Sweetgrass First Nation and the acting director of employment and training with the Battleford Agency Tribal Chiefs. Wuttunee is a member of Red Pheasant First Nation and CEO of the Saskatchewan First Nations Natural Resource Centre of Excellence. It was created by the FSIN in 2009 to provide support to First Nations working in the energy and resource sectors, including oil, gas, mining and renewable energy.
The focus of the meeting was protection of the lands and water, which are included in First Nations’ inherent and treaty rights, Cameron said.
The federation insists that Husky engage with an elders’ advisory council, though it was unclear whether that will happen, Cameron said.
“To bring in your experts to tell us (about) our lands and waters doesn’t make sense. You have to have the knowledge and expertise of elders who are the true knowledge keepers and are the experts in our lands and waters.”
Husky’s media and issues manager, Mel Duvall, said in an email that the company “wanted to meet so we could discuss their concerns and jointly work toward solutions. We will continue this open dialogue.”
Officials from the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency and NDP MLAs Trent Wotherspoon and Doyle Vermette joined representatives of area tribal councils and the FSIN at the meeting, but Premier Brad Wall and Government Relations Minister Jim Reiter stayed away.
Chief Lorie Whitecalf of the Sweetgrass First Nation said she was “truly frustrated” by that.
“All we hear is crickets from their office and I’d like that to change,” Whitecalf said.
“Industry and the government treat us like it’s still the 1950s, as if we’re wards of the state .... That has to stop. We need to be recognized. We have a huge source of labour, we have partnerships with companies, we have companies that are owned by First Nations (which are) qualified to work in industry, to be partners, to be active participants in the economy.”
Whitecalf was also irked by Wall tweeting on Tuesday that he and Reiter were reaching out to community leaders along the river to offer the province’s help. She checked with other chiefs along the river and none of them had received any communication from the government, she said.
“That’s proof right there that we don’t exist in the provincial government’s eyes.”
Cameron said he considers the meeting “a start” to building a relationship with the company. He said he expects to meet with Husky chief executive Asim Ghosh, Wall, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and provincial and federal ministers.