Breakthrough or breakdown?
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BC government tries to strike reconciliation deal with First Nations leaders
GARY PARK For Petroleum News
With Premier Christy Clark at the helm, the British Columbia government entered a two-day summit on Sept. 9 with about 500 First Nations leaders hoping to bridge the chasm on future economic, social and legal relations.
Many of the aboriginal representatives embarked on the talks in a bloody-minded mood, threatening to resume court battles and establish camps to block resource development unless there was clear evidence of improvement.
And they weren’t prepared to buy into the claims of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister John Rustad, who opened the two-day gathering by describing advances over the past decade as “remarkable.”
“You’re seeing our government’s response to the First Nations every day, in all the things we do” in our negotiations and our discussions and the way we try to build our relationships,” he said.
The First Nations had only to point to the dismal results of attempts to secure treaty agreements.
Of British Columbia’s 203 distinct First Nations (representing about 200,000 people), only two have ratified treaties, three are in the ratification process and five are negotiating final agreements, while 17 have preliminary deals to share economic benefits.
However, the majority of First Nations have refused to participate in the process, noting that the agreements to date cover only 5 percent of the land claimed.
New fracking alliance Reflecting the mood, 10 First Nations have formed a new alliance to voice their concerns about the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing to establish the gas needed to underpin an LNG export business.
In a three-page statement to Clark, they said what is needed is “a more civil, legally consistent and logical approach to major project development.”
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said the underlying message from the aboriginal leaders “is that if we don’t make any progress within the space of the next year ... all (of the work at the summit) will fall through and it will be back to the courts and pretty much back to the barricades.”
More reversals than successes In this charged environment, the government and the oil and gas industry have experienced more reversals than successes in seeking First Nations support for the discovery, development and transportation of natural gas to LNG terminals and the pipelines to carry oil sands bitumen to tanker ports on the British Columbia coast.
The environmental damage attributed to oil and gas companies has seen the Fort Nelson First Nation, in the heart of British Columbia’s shale gas riches, and the alliance of communities from the Pacific Coast to the Alberta border, present an ultimatum to the Clark government.
But, somewhat against all the odds, the two sides ended the summit by approving a document that the government is proclaiming as a road map to new relations, setting a deadline of the next year to make actual progress.
‘Unique’ view sought Clark said she wants First Nations to apply their “unique” view of reconciliation during the ongoing talks.
“I want to make sure that document comes alive,” she said. “Reconciliation means a shared vision of the future.”
Phillip said the road ahead may be bumpy, but all sides are willing to help build a path.
“Reconciliation doesn’t happen in a ballroom in a hotel in Vancouver (where the summit took place), but you can set a framework for what happens in the communities.”
Phillip noted that Clark said a year ago that the two sides “were at a fork in the road. I think we’re still there.”
“We’re hopeful that this time all of the parties acknowledge the gravity of the situation and within the next several months show significant progress,” he said.
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