First Nations seek ownership stakes in resource projects
PRINCE GEORGE — First Nations chiefs in British Columbia’s resource- rich north have banded together to pursue ownership of liquefied natural gas, mining and forestry projects.
Thirty- six hereditary and elected chiefs have signed an agreement to collectively benefit from resource development in their traditional territories.
Chief Martin Louie of the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation said Friday that a meeting to sign the agreement was triggered by concerns around consultation and environmental regulation of resource extraction.
He said at least six more chiefs are expected to sign the agreement in the coming days.
Louie said aboriginal leaders are realizing they have the power to make change after a Supreme Court of Canada decision in June in favour of the Tsilhqot’in Nation, which was awarded aboriginal title to 1,750 square kilometres of land in the remote Nemiah Valley near Williams Lake.
He said B. C. First Nations shouldn’t have to resort to blockades or lawsuits because the decision has set a new standard in indigenous rights.
“The main thing the group talked about was the protection of the land and water and animals, and that a fair share of revenue isn’t really something that’s given to us,” Louie said
Our time is here to take our rightful place in resource development in B. C. THERESA DAY WET’SUWET’EN CHIEF
about the meeting .
He said the chiefs have a long list of environmental concerns they hope to have addressed with governments to protect their traditional territory — nearly all of northern B. C.
The agreement includes the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan near Prince Rupert, both of which have spoken out about the potential environmental impacts of resource development in their territories.
Wet’suwet’en Chief Theresa Day deemed the meeting a “historic” time for B. C. First Nations to come together.
“Our time is here to take our rightful place in resource development in B. C.,” she said .
The chiefs have committed to working together to better understand how an ownership approach might work, given the north’s “great resource wealth, the increasing global demand for our territory’s minerals and hydrocarbons, the scope and depth of climate change and other environmental pressures and challenges.