First Nations in Battlefords area want consultation with Husky, province

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Leaders from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs and Battlefords Tribal Council gathered near the river in the Battlefords Wednesday, July 27 to discuss the oil spill.

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Industry representatives need to build relationships with First Nations to properly move forward from this spill, according to Chief Crystal Okemow of Lucky Man First Nation.

She said there’s a lack of trust and communication between First Nations and oil companies which can be repaired by companies involving First Nations at every step of their process, from decision making to monitoring. She said she hopes now that something this devastating has happened, there’s a chance to learn from it and establish a relationship.

“I think this was something that was bound to happen and I think something positive has to be taken from it,” she said. “I think the positive is working together now, let’s move forward together so something like this doesn’t happen again.”

Third Vice Chief Dutch Lerat of the FSIN said the chiefs are asking Husky to send a senior level official to consult with the leaders about the future. He said an immediate act of good faith would be to better involve First Nations in communication about this spill and allow them to be part of the monitoring.

He said this comes back to a wider question of how many pipelines cross First Nations land and waterways. Now that Canada has adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which includes the duty to consult and accommodate about issues on First Nations territories, Lerat said companies need to consider that at the highest levels.

“In this day and age, when you can’t pick up the phone to inform a chief that ‘we’re coming into your traditional territory and we’re going to be doing some work there, can you help us with the process,’ that’s what our leadership wants to hear is that inclusion process, the duty to consult and accommodate,” he said.

Sarah Rae is battlefordsNOW’s court and crime reporter. She can be reached at Sarah.Rae@jpbg.ca or tweet her @sarahjeanrae.