Indigenous peoples of Northern Alberta sue the province
They took their example from the First Nation of British Columbia.
The Native Nation of northern Alberta has filed what experts say is the province's first lawsuit, reporting that the cumulative effects of industry, agriculture and settlement are so pervasive that they violate the group's rights. The Duncan First Nation, located southwest of Pease River, a town about 500 kilometers north of Edmonton, claims that the province has permitted so many activities and sold so much crown land that members of the group cannot fully live the constitutionally guaranteed way of life.
The lawsuit states, "Alberta has engaged in a pattern of behavior that significantly limits (the nation's) right to hunt, fish and use traps as part of their way of life."
It is mentioned that "habitats have been fragmented, lands and waters have been degraded, substances have been introduced that raise legitimate pollution concerns, and pollution and lands have been used for uses incompatible with the continued meaningful exercise of (the nation's) treaty rights."
Alberta, for its part, requires cumulative effects assessments in environmental impact studies. However, indigenous representatives have long argued that these assessments are superficial and unimportant. They say that Alberta has continually allowed development and settlement of group lands, approving project after project and not thinking about how all these actions add up.
Moreover, it is reported that First Nation representatives have not been listened to. Jeff Langlois, a First Nation lawyer, says the group has participated in every regulatory hearing that has concerned their lives, but to no avail, and a lawsuit is the only option left.
In May, the group sent a letter to Prime Minister Jason Kenney listing its concerns:
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