Time to take legal action against regional plan, says chief

Input from First Nations in two drafts of the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan has seen little movement in the document that will go before Cabinet.

“Now it’s time for us to start putting legal action in place. We’re going forward with a case. We’re not holding back,” said Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

The provincial government released LARP in late August. Although two million hectares of land representing 22 per cent of the area have been set aside as variously-ranked conservation areas, an amount three times the size of Banff National Park, it still represents two townships less land conserved than was proposed in the previous draft. Conservation-designated areas will see existing oil and gas tenures honoured and sub-surface drilling will be allowed.

“The provincial government is going all out and there are no breaks in their agenda in what they see fit for the future for industry,” said Adam.

Mel Knight, minister of sustainable development, disagrees with Adam’s assessment. In a press conference, Knight said, “It’s important to note that the target here, and what we think this plan achieves, is a balance. A balance between the environment, development and community aspect of living and working in Alberta. This plan will include science-based limits that protect air, land and water and our biodiversity.”

Knight said one difference between the last draft of the plan and this draft is the call for more consultation with First Nations people.

“There is a much stronger commitment here to Aboriginal consultation,” he said.

A new strategy to engage First Nations on how to minimize land disturbance in the Athabasca river corridor north of Fort McMurray has been included.

But engagement and consultation isn’t enough if no one is listening, said Adam.

“If they’re going to do more consultations with First Nations, sure, that’s a good thing. Doing consultation and talking is one thing. But actually getting down to the paper and making changes in regards to what has happened is another thing,” he said.

Adam said his First Nation will challenge LARP legally on a number of points with emphasis placed on the loss of treaty rights.

“They’ve infringed on our treaty rights and really limited our ability to be out on the land as much as we can,” said Adam.

LARP permits First Nations to exercise the constitutional rights to hunt, fish, and trap food “within reasonable proximity” of First Nations main population centres.

“In Treaty 8, it says ‘upon starvation all gates will remain open.’ I don’t feel it’s right for us to be limited in our own area,” said Adam.

Adam said the provincial government needs to “smarten up” and understand that having a majority government doesn’t allow them to do as they please.

“I don’t have anything against development. If you’re going to develop something, develop it in a way that it’s going to be able to sustain itself, not over-develop so that it becomes a chaos,” said Adam.

The Lower Athabasca Regional Plan is the first of seven plans that divides the province into areas based on the watersheds. Knight said he hoped to have LARP in place by early fall and no later than the end of this year.