Natural Gas EA Changes Spark First Nations Anger
Fort Nelson, B.C. – The BC Government’s low-key changes to the environmental assessment process for natural gas development didn’t go over well with First Nations.
Provincial officials attending a shale gas/LNG summit in Fort Nelson were kicked out by Fort Nelson First Nation Chief Sharleen Gale this morning. They were drummed out as Gale held up an eagle feather. Industry representatives were allowed to stay, but received a warning from the chief.
“We are the governments of our territories. We are the ones that make the decisions on our lands. We are the ones that are enforcing our rights. Nobody else makes decisions for us. This is what you need to bring back to your CEOs, to your boardrooms, to the people you work with.”
The President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs called the changes a betrayal that could put a halt to the BC government’s hopes for a trillion-dollar LNG industry.
The province announced Tuesday that, as of April 28th, natural gas plants producing less than two tonnes of sulphur emissions per day, which include vast majority of BC operations, will no longer get automatic environmental assessments.
The changes were made through orders in council which are not subject to debate.
Comments
Well, I guess we know who is running the show. I could only imagine what would happen if the situation were reversed.
Sigh. I can’t think of many things that DON’T “spark First Nations anger”.
When I was in business, I always figured there were three major factors that contributed to the high cost of getting any work done in BC: safety compliance, environmental compliance, and First Nations. Not to condemn them all – just making a point.
Ok, you can have the land and all its resources. We will all quit our jobs and your turn to work and we will call ourselves second nation and you can provide us with our monthly checks.
Or, we can all go back to where we came from. My problem is I was actually born here, so I have nowhere else to go.
Is LNG fracturing worth its weight in water?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/is-lng-fracking-worth-its-weight-in-water/article16121900/
Fracking fuels the B.C. government’s liquefied natural gas gambit
http://www.straight.com/news/617826/fracking-fuels-bc-governments-liquefied-natural-gas-gambit
What boggles my mind in this is that after all the fuss that has been made over First Nation’s rights, after all the legal battles that have been fought that have resulted in definitive statements by the courts that government decisions which have an impact on first Nations territories must be made after consultations with them, why does the Liberal government in BC make a behind-closed-doors decision to reduce environmental assessment criteria without that necessary and required consultation. Are they really that stupid? Do they actually want more confrontation? Are they just contemptuous of the law and think they are above it? Something really is rotten in the State of Denmark!
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