Northern Alberta Indigenous leaders warn that watering down the federal government's proposed environmental assessment law would only doom energy projects to more years of court wrangling.
Four Athabasca-area chiefs are to speak to a Senate committee Wednesday in Fort McMurray, Alta., about Bill C-69.
"Our intent with Bill C-69 is to ensure that it is robust enough to allow First Nations across Canada to have their rights considered without having to resort to courts," said Chief Archie Waquan of the Mikisew Cree First Nation.The Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources is holding meetings across the Prairies on the bill.
Industry representatives and the Alberta government say such legislation would hurt development through unending consultation and regulatory challenges. The Senate committee was met in Calgary on Tuesday by crowds chanting "kill the bill.""If C-69 is softened, there'll be more court cases coming in for sure," said Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.
An Indigenous community must be within one kilometre of a development to be considered affected by it. Traditional use, protected under the Constitution, must be documented by First Nations much more strictly than by any other landowner.
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