News
First Nations call for federal emergency order protecting caribou - Press ReleaseThursday Jul 15, 2010
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First Nations in north-eastern Alberta call for federal emergency order protecting woodland caribou No further industrial development anywhere in remaining herd ranges July 15, 2010 - Beaver Lake Cree Nation, Enoch Cree Nation, Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation are calling on the federal government to issue an emergency order under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) protecting the full ranges of woodland caribou in north-eastern Alberta from any further industrial development. The federal Minister of Environment is more than three years past a mandatory statutory deadline for preparing a recovery strategy for woodland caribou, which are listed as a threatened species under SARA. A recovery strategy is a key step in the conservation of any threatened species, and is required before the federal government can provide long-term protection for the remaining habitat of woodland caribou. According to a report released today and authored by Dr. Stan Boutin, a leading caribou expert at the University of Alberta, woodland caribou are in steep decline in the area because of the cumulative effects of rampant industrial development on caribou habitat, particularly by the oil and gas industry. According to Dr. Boutin’s report, the East Side Athabasca River herd has declined by 71% since 1996 while the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range herd has declined 74% since 1998. Dr. Boutin’s report notes that: “This level of decline is dramatic and it is a strong signal that drastic immediate management action is required to keep caribou from disappearing completely” in the Alberta traditional territory of the Beaver Lake Cree Nation. Dr. Boutin’s recommendations include habitat restoration and full protection of remaining caribou ranges in north-eastern Alberta. Chief Al Lameman of Beaver Lake Cree Nation said: “We are calling on government to immediately halt the destruction of our lands, lands that sustain our caribou and our people. It is difficult for me to express the anger I feel at the loss of this noble animal in our territory. Our traditional land is dwindling. We need habitat for our animals to ensure there is a healthy surplus. These animals sustain us and, as they die, our future becomes uncertain. We must act now to take care of Mother Earth.” In a strongly-worded letter sent earlier today to environment Minister Jim Prentice, the First Nations give the federal government 45 days to prepare an emergency order protecting caribou in the region. Jack Woodward, legal counsel for the First Nations in this matter, said: “We feel a request for an emergency order is entirely reasonable, given the sharp decline in caribou and given the federal environment Minister’s ongoing failure to prepare a recovery plan more than three years after expiry of the mandatory deadline. The federal government has tried to justify refusing to act on this obligation with the surprising claim that time is needed to consult with First Nations. With this demand we are making it clear that First Nations are not standing in the way of action – they are demanding immediate emergency protection for the caribou until long-term habitat protection is in place.” Chief Vern Janvier of the Chipewyan Prairie Dene said: “The extinction of caribou would mean the extinction of our people. The caribou is our sacred animal; it is a measure of our way of life. When the caribou are dying, the land is dying. We see no respect from government for the caribou or for us as humans. The way Alberta is operating, profit for the oil industry is number one, and everything else can be sacrificed.” -30-
Contacts: Susan Smitten, Director of Communications, Woodward & Company - 250.383.2356 Ron Lameman, Advisor to Beaver Lake Cree Nation BLCN office - 780.623.4549 Links: Letter to Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice from First Nations demanding federal emergency order protecting woodland caribou Expert report on woodland caribou [Rangifer tarandus caribou] in the Traditional Territory of the Beaver Lake Cree Nation - Dr. Stan Boutin, July 5, 2010 Maps of BLCN territory (oil sands leases & caribou ranges):
PDF copy of this news release is available here. Note to editors: The Co-operative Bank in Manchester, UK, which provided funding for Dr. Boutin’s report, issued a press release and copy of the report on July 14, 2010. For more information, visit their website at: http://www.co-operativecampaigns.co.uk/caribou and the bank published a report to coincide that examines the implications for the tar sands industry. To read the Save the Caribou, Stop the Tar Sands report, click here. |
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TNG denounces BC Minister of Mines' call for 'development at any cost' - News ReleaseMonday Jul 05, 2010
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 Federal Panel report warns of “high magnitude, long term, irreversible” impacts on the environment and on Tsilhqot’in people and cultureJuly 5, 2010, Williams Lake – The Tsilhqot’in National Government denounces the BC Minister of Mines’ call for federal approval of the proposed Prosperity project in the face of a report from an independent panel warning that the open-pit copper and gold mine would have “significant adverse effects” on the environment and “high magnitude, long term, irreversible” impacts on Tsilhqot’in people and culture. Provincial Minister Bill Bennett was quoted in Saturday’s Globe and Mail as stating “We frankly would like to see this project happen”. The Mining Association of British Columbia also called for federal approval of the project – on the same day that the federal Panel issued a strongly worded environmental assessment report confirming that the mine would permanently destroy “an important cultural and spiritual area ... currently used by the Tsilhqot'in for traditional purposes”, lead to “long term” impacts on the physical and mental health of the Tsilhqot'in communities, and create “high magnitude, long-term and irreversible” effects on fish and fish habitat that cannot be mitigated. “The Province and the Mining Association often talk about their so-called commitment to responsible mining”, said Chief Marilyn Baptiste, of the Xeni Gwet’in community of the Tsilhqot’in Nation. “This was an opportunity to walk the talk, and to admit that some projects are unsustainable and should not go forward. The Panel confirmed that this mine would permanently destroy an area that is a place of worship for our people, a cultural school for our children, and a bread basket that has fed our people for centuries. And the very same day, the Minister and the Mining Association are calling for approval of the Project at any cost.” It is highly unusual for a federal review panel to find that a proposed project will have significant environmental impacts. “When you see these conclusions from a federal Panel, it really sounds the alarm”, said Jay Nelson, a lawyer for the TNG. “In the almost 20 years of federal environmental assessments, covering dozens and dozens of major projects, only two previous Panels have found significant adverse environmental impacts – and in both cases the projects were rejected by the federal government. To put this in perspective, all of the major oil sands projects in northern Alberta have been approved based on findings of no significant adverse impacts on the environment after mitigation.” “The BC environmental assessment that the mine company is relying on was a rubber-stamp process,” said Chief Joe Alphonse, Tribal Chair of the TNG. “We’re encouraged to see that this independent federal assessment has some integrity. The federal Panel confirmed how important Teztan Biny and Nabas are for the survival of our Tsilhqot’in culture. First Nations everywhere are watching to see how much our cultural survival really means to the government at the end of the day. This is a line that should not be crossed”. In its report, the federal Panel concluded that the project would result in “significant adverse environmental effects” on fisheries, threatened grizzly bear populations, on First Nations’ traditional use and cultural heritage in the area, and on proven and asserted Aboriginal rights. The Panel confirmed that “the island in Teztan Biny (Fish Lake), which would be destroyed by the mine waste storage area, is a place of spiritual power and healing for the Tsilhqot'in”. Click here for the CEAA Executive Summary. Click here for a Backgrounder of highlights and key conclusions from the panel's report. Watch Blue Gold: The Tsilhqot'in Fight for Teztan Biny. Click here to read Dr. Marvin Shaffer's economic analysis which found no net benefit to BC. |
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