One of B.C.'s most influential First Nations leaders will not be at a ceremony with Prince William to protest the way Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Christy Clark are dealing with indigenous issues.
Royal tours to Canada are almost never seen as exercises in political damage control.
Sept. 25, 2016
If you listen to news anchors drone on about these visits, you would think that public relations was the last thing on anyone's agenda.
But anyone would have to be naive not to think that the prime minister's office helped shape the itinerary for this week's visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Assembly of First Nations, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, NDP among opponents to B.C. dam project
The federal NDP is questioning Justin Trudeau's commitment to having a 'nation-to-nation' relationship with Indigenous people, claiming the Liberal party continues to dodge questions about the construction of the Site C dam near Fort St John.
The controversial hydroelectric project came up in Question Period numerous times this week, including an exchange between NDP leader Thomas Mulcair and the prime minister.
Imminent decisions on giant energy projects are sure to anger some parts of the electorate that swept him to power.
September 25, 2016
Photographs by Ben Nelms/Bloomberg [See original article for photos]
Along Canada’s evergreen-draped west coast, the fate of a multi-billion-dollar energy project and a nation’s reconciliation with its dark, colonial past hang in the balance.
OTTAWA - A United Nations monitoring mission to a world heritage site in northern Alberta appears likely to focus more attention on the contested Site C hydroelectric project next door in British Columbia.
Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site since 1983, is under review this week at the request of the Mikisew Cree First Nation, which petitioned the world body in 2014 to list the park as being under threat from various developments.
Historic Indigenous alliance aims to shut down tar sands expansion
“Kinder Morgan is now my fight,” explained Kanesatake Grand Chief Serge Simon, adding that his fight with Energy East “is now also the fight of my treaty allies to the west. That’s what this is all about.”
The thunderous pounding of Indigenous drums echoed in the air on Thursday as more than 50 Indigenous nations across North America rallied together to sign a historic, pan-continental treaty alliance against oilsands expansion in their traditional territory.
Nine years ago today, on September 13, 2007, the United Nations took an important step towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples when the General Assembly voted 144-4 to adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. While 11 countries abstained, four countries voted against the Declaration: Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia.
First Nations leaders from British Columbia were in Ottawa this week to tell federal politicians they have been betrayed by a government that promised a new relationship with indigenous people then approved the construction of a massive hydro dam that threatens their traditional way of life.
The $8.8-billion BC Hydro project on the Peace River, known as Site C, received authorizations from the federal departments of Fisheries and Transport earlier this summer.
