Indigenous Peoples

12/08/16
Author: 
Amnesty International Staff
Peace River

Read Amnesty's new report on Site C: Point of No Return

“Our people have a deep connection with this land because our ancestors told the stories and legends that are connected to that valley.” -- Chief Liz Logan, Treaty 8 Tribal Association, testifying before the environmental impact assessment of the proposed Site C hydroelectric dam.

11/07/16
Author: 
Dene Moore

VANCOUVER - British Columbia First Nations are wasting no time in enforcing their claim on traditional lands in light of a landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision recognizing aboriginal land title.

The hereditary chiefs of the Gitxsan First Nations served notice Thursday to CN Rail, logging companies and sport fishermen to leave their territory along the Skeena River in a dispute with the federal and provincial governments over treaty talks.

01/07/16
Author: 
John Dillon

On June 10, 2016, KAIROS released an Open Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Columbia Premier Christy Clark urging them to suspend construction of the Site C dam on the Peace River until Indigenous peoples’ rights have been respected and the B.C. Utilities Commission has conducted a thorough review.1 This Briefing Paper will explain why KAIROS and other civil society organizations are taking action on this issue.

[Webpage editor: Here is only the text; go to link for the original.]

01/07/16
Author: 
Bruce McIvor

June 30, 2016 - The Federal Court of Appeal has quashed the federal government's Enbridge pipeline decision.

The fault the Court identified in the entire process was the federal government's consultation process that occurred after the NEB decision and the Joint Review Panel Report.

Here's what the court said:

29/06/16
Author: 
Mark Hume
The Pine Valley open pit coal mine in the Peace River district of northeastern B.C., shown in 2005. Chief Marvin Yahey says resource industry development has negatively affected the Blueberry River First Nations' traditional territory, which overlies a large part of B.C.’s northeast oil and gas field. (John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail)

The Blueberry River First Nations has released an atlas showing that more than 80 per cent of its traditional territory – which overlies a large part of B.C.’s northeast oil and gas field – has been negatively affected by development.

“Fracking, forestry, roads and other development is pushing us further and further to the edges of our territory,” Chief Marvin Yahey said Tuesday.

29/06/16
Author: 
Ash Kelly, Brielle Morgan
Lax Kw'alaams
For more than 5,000 years, First Nations people have collected plants and harvested red cedar on Lelu Island, which sits where the Skeena River meets the Pacific Ocean near Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia.
17/06/16
Author: 
Laura Kane
Kayakers paddle past the U.S.-registered tanker "Commitment" anchored on Burrard Inlet in North Vancouver, B.C., waiting to load at Kinder Morgan's Westridge Marine Terminal on the south shore of Burrard Inlet in Burnaby on Thursday May 3, 2012. (DARRYL DYCK for the Globe and Mail)

A British Columbia First Nation has launched a court challenge to overturn the National Energy Board’s recommendation that the federal cabinet approve the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

The Squamish Nation, whose traditional territories span a large swath of B.C.’s south coast, filed an application for judicial review on Thursday in Vancouver’s Federal Court of Appeal. It seeks to quash the NEB’s decision and refer it back for reconsideration.

Vancouver mayor seeking 'definitive no' on pipeline expansion (CP Video)

07/06/16
Author: 
Christopher Curtis
A sign — Don’t spill in our home — protests against the Energy East pipeline. DARIO AYALA / MONTREAL GAZETTE

The Kanesatake Mohawks are challenging the Energy East pipeline application, claiming it’s incomplete because it doesn’t address potential environmental risks the structure would pose as it crosses the Ottawa River.

If regulators accept the application as complete, it would be “the height of irresponsibility,” according to a legal letter filed Monday by the Mohawks’ lawyer to the National Energy Board.

30/05/16
Author: 
Leslie Dyson
Carleen Thomas speaks at the May 24 forum. Gary Beattie

Pipeline plans have local communities up in arms

MAY 27, 2016

About 70 members of First Nations and the B.C. communities south of the Fraser River met on May 24 at the Sumas First Nation Community Hall to talk about the threat of Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Indigenous Peoples