Lake Babine vows to fight pipeline, protect their aboriginal rights
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Lake Babine vows to fight pipeline, protect their aboriginal rights
Burns Lake, December 19, 2013: Lake Babine Nation was terribly saddened today to learn that the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Joint Review Panel had recommended the Northern Gateway pipeline for approval.
Lake Babine First Nation is comprised of over 2400 members, making it one of the largest First Nations along the pipeline route. Lake Babine Nation asserts Aboriginal title, fishing rights, and a full range of other harvesting rights to the area that will be affected by the pipeline. The Panel stated that “project effects, in combination with cumulative effects, be found likely to be significant for certain populations of . . . grizzly bear.” Grizzly bear is very important to Lake Babine Nation, as are other big game such as moose.
Lake Babine Nation Chief Wilf Adam: “The JRP process simply isn’t designed to properly consider the full impacts of the pipeline on aboriginal rights, which are protected by the Constitution of Canada. The Federal Government has gutted Canada’s environmental laws and streamlined the environmental assessment process to the detriment of all Canadians, but it has not taken away the constitutional protection given to our aboriginal rights. The JRP recommendations have made it clear to us that we are being forced to go to the courts to protect our aboriginal rights.”
The JRP was not mandated to make any determinations about aboriginal rights, and recommended that Enbridge consult further with aboriginal groups about impacts on their rights.
Says Chief Wilf Adam: “A recommendation to the company to do further consultation with us does nothing to protect our aboriginal rights. It just results in talk. In our view, the horse has been let out of the barn by the JRP and further consultation will not change that.”
Lawyers for Lake Babine Nation say that the court process involves a careful review of the aboriginal culture along with the biology of the affected species. Those factual questions will take time to resolve in court, and have not been adequately dealt with by the JRP, if at all. If necessary, the Lake Babine Nation will seek temporary injunctions against construction to preserve the status quo until the court process has been completed.