PIPELINE CRITICISM
AFN chief talks tough
The head of the Assembly of First Nations told a Calgary business crowd Wednesday the energy industry must do a better job on safety and protecting the environment if it wants to earn the trust of Canada’s aboriginal people.
Perry Bellegarde, speaking at a Calgary Chamber of Commerce luncheon, said First Nations are watching the recent spill of bitumen from a state- of- the- art Nexen pipeline south of Fort McMurray.
“If the industry can assure people there are systems in place — better systems — they will be more open to transportation, to the pipelines,” said Bellegarde, who comes from the Black Bear First Nation and is the former chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.
“If there could be that fear alleviated ... they have the best technology in place. What happened? That shouldn’t happen.”
First Nation opposition has been a major factor in stalling Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline proposed to connect Alberta’s oilsands to Kitimat, B. C., for shipment to Asia. Resistance by aboriginal groups could also hamper TransCanada Corp.’ s proposed Energy East line to the Atlantic coast.
But Bellegarde noted there is a vast difference of opinion among individual First Nations toward pipelines, with some interested in the economic potential of the projects and others fiercely opposed.
Both the oilpatch and governments need to engage with indigenous people, he said.
Bellegarde suggested a system in which resource companies must demonstrate their commitment to aboriginal economic development and employment before development permits are issued.
And provincial and federal governments must take seriously their legal duty to consult First Nations and Metis people when resource projects potentially affect aboriginal rights, he said.
Bellegarde met with provincial leaders at last week’s Council of the Federation meeting and said he told them that to ensure economic certainty they should set up bilateral talks with First Nations to discuss the duty to consult and the potential for revenue sharing.
The premiers’ plan for a Canadian energy strategy must also involve First Nations, he said.
“You need to walk with First Nations people at every step of the way and build that relationship. Because if you don’t, there will be legal challenges,” said Bellegarde, who was elected to the AFN’s top job last year.
“We’re not opposed to development, but we want to make sure the footprint’s not like this,” he added, holding his arms wide.
Bellegarde did have high praise for Alberta’s new premier, Rachel Notley, lauding her for the recently elected NDP government’s apology for the impact of residential schools and her directive to cabinet ministers to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“That’s so powerful,” he said. “That’s is a strong demonstrable act of reconciliation.”
In June, the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission detailed more than a century of institutionalized abuse of generations of aboriginal children in residential schools.
The report, based on interviews with thousands of survivors, detailed the plight of youngsters forcibly separated from their families to endure loneliness, cruelty and physical and mental abuse tantamount to “cultural genocide.”
They have the best technology in place. What happened ( in Nexen spill)? That shouldn’t happen.