Indigenous leaders who represent more than 130 communities involved in the oil and gas sector were on Parliament Hill Thursday to speak out about two proposed bills they say will leave their “communities in poverty.”
Members of Aboriginal Equity Partners and the Indian Resource Council were in Ottawa to express their dissatisfaction with the proposed Oil Tanker Moratorium (Bill C-48) and the proposed Impact Assessment Act (Bill C-69).
They say the legislation will prevent communities, who are conducting or trying to conduct “responsible oil production” on their territories, from receiving “the full value of our resources.”
“No moratoriums, no killing pipelines, no bills that are guaranteed to lead to endless court challenges,” Bruce Dumont said during a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday.
Dumont, former president of the B.C. Metis Nation, said the federal government needs to find a balance between the economy and the environment.
Former B.C. Metis Nation President Bruce Dumont said efforts to protect the environment are costing Indigenous communities with fossil fuel resources money.
He said dozens of oil and gas-producing communities are losing “$200-million each year in royalties, compared to 2012, due to the price deferential and a lack of pipeline access for the products.
“That computes to about $18,000 per family, per year.”
The leaders, who gathered to speak out about the pending legislation, say the media and politicians are portraying Metis and First Nations as “anti-development.”
“I want you to think of the consequences of that,” Dumont said in front of a small group of reporters at the press gallery.
“Our neighbours in rural communities of Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. who are rig workers, drillers, truckers, think we are the problem — that we are killing their jobs, their livelihood and their ability to support their families. We also have families to support.”
Those speaking against the two bills acknowledge the relationship with the resource sector has not been perfect but argued it has provided “opportunities to exercise self-determination.”
Indian Resource Council CEO Stephen Buffalo said he’s concerned about Bill C-69’s proposed expansion of public participation in standing.
Buffalo believes only those directly affected by a project should be able to participate.
“We don’t want to open the door for big environmental NGOs to delay or disrupt projects in our territories,” he said.
Well… spewing toxic carbon emissions into the atmosphere effects every living organism that lives on the planet!I cannot believe an Indigenous Person would make such a stupid statement…got your head out of the arse of the oilsads!
First time on APT News and am impressed with the project. You have added a lot to my understanding of the oil industry in Western Canada and the extent of indigenous involvement.
I am sick of the wee mindset of incessantly asking for govt handouts! Leaders with little minds need to expand it to get our people out of that rut! We will progress when our people learn who they are via customs&land ties. The indian act system & native organizations always have had “program dollars.” This didnt help did it? The suicide, unemployment rate etc has always been high. More handouts isnt the answer! And this,” environmentalist,” is a wetsuweten woman, daughter of late ww2’vet tsebesya who,till the month he passed away, fought to preserve the land many leaders havent set
foot on. Shame on you. Asking for more handouts. And metis at that- ahve you even identified yourself as native growing up?
$18,00 per year. He must live in a fog if he thinks that isn’t poverty…
I would like to thank the leaders here at the podium speaking, for being wise and courageous to stand for their communities. And one would expect everyone to , respectfully listen to them and do exactly what they want in regards to giving jobs to the ones who are affected majorly. The people who own the land. The Queen never did give due punishment to the ones who killed , destroyed and raped souls in North America. Giving the survivors a one time apology for Residential Schools and a claim was a move in giving back some human dignity. But this is still looking like the Aboriginal are being bullied. Stop it, sums it up.
The Trudeau government has shown its dislike for the indigenous peoples of this land by siding with American and Canadian environmental groups and very rich American foundations, who want to keep the oil in the ground. Secondly, the First Nations along with the Metis are split into two camps, those want oil pipelines and those who don’t, guess who the Liberal Party of Canada along with the NDP government of BC are listening to. Don’t the fix, our legal system is probably opposed oil pipelines as well. Orange Empire prefers to get its oil from the Evergreen State.
The whitemans houseApples who won’t give back to the People; on behalf of their DIA overlord’s,
and Oil’d dollars in their bulging pockets…
$ycophant’s at the trough.
These Jokers don’t follow the Rules of OUR Law, much less the LESSER white Man’s,
…. they’re Hangin with the Greasy-Crowd and here to be the Fog paid-for By the Petro Boy’s Club in this Latest sell-Out.
Remove their Wrongly applied Indemnification’s then
$2 for filing a 17a in Federal Court for Claims an damages to be made ‘Whole again’,
because there’s other stuff they’ve been screwing with too.
I hope those in favor of pipelines, on Native lands, look up the history of the Yellowstone Pipeline. The Flathead Nation shut it down on their land, after a number of spills.