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Assembly of First Nations calls on Alberta, Ottawa to scrap pipeline deal · THE DAILY BRIEF

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hundreds of Indigenous leaders have passed an emergency resolution calling
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: for the immediate withdrawal of the Canada Alberta Memorandum of Understanding.
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  Speaker 1: That agreement, which was signed last week, opens the door
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  Speaker 1: to a pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast. First
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  Speaker 1: Nations chiefs voted unanimously to pass the resolution at a
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  Speaker 1: special meeting of the Assembly of First Nations in Ottawa today.
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  Speaker 1: Prime Minister Mark Karney may well face some pushback when
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  Speaker 1: he addresses the meeting later this afternoon. Today's resolution also
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  Speaker 1: calls for the government to uphold the oil tanker ban
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  Speaker 1: along British Columbia's northern coast. For a closer look at this,
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  Speaker 1: I want to bring in Dave Lamouche. He is the
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  Speaker 1: President of the Meiti Settlement and General Council of Alberta.
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  Speaker 1: He joins us from Edmonton today and thank you for
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  Speaker 1: taking the time. I appreciate this.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, thank you for having me.
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  Speaker 1: The Assembly of First Nations Chiefs, as you know, voted
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  Speaker 1: unanimously today to demand the withdrawal of a new pipeline proposal.
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  Speaker 1: What do you make of that announcement.
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  Speaker 2: I think the First Nations have their reasons why they
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  Speaker 2: would make that resolution. I think one of the things
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  Speaker 2: that we know and here all the time is they
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  Speaker 2: need proper consultation, free, prior and informed consent. So I
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  Speaker 2: think that's coming in the coming days. However, I guess
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  Speaker 2: that needs to be addressed fairly quickly.
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  Speaker 1: Tell me about why you think this would benefit your communities?
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  Speaker 2: Well within our lands in the Alberta I guess province,
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  Speaker 2: we operate eight mat the settlements with many infrastructure needs.
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  Speaker 2: We have populations needing proper drinking water, infrastructure in terms
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  Speaker 2: of water treatment plants, clean drinking water, and opportunities for education, housing,
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  Speaker 2: health and safety communities is what we're trying to attain
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  Speaker 2: for our members. We have almost ten thousand people that
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  Speaker 2: we represent.
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  Speaker 1: And we've seen First Nations in British Columbia opposed to
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  Speaker 1: this pipeline proposal. Why do you and members of the
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  Speaker 1: Mayte Settlements in Alberta feel this pipeline is going to
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  Speaker 1: help communities? And how do you reconcile the fact that
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  Speaker 1: it seems as though as of this moment at least
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  Speaker 1: the Coastal First Nations are against this pipeline.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we have the same needs as the Coastal First nations.
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  Speaker 2: They need clear, clean drinking water. They want to have
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  Speaker 2: a good environment that they live in. The same thing
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  Speaker 2: with the many settlements. We want to live in areas
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  Speaker 2: which are you know, environmentally sound. You prety balance on development,
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  Speaker 2: you know, to generate revenue. So if you generate revenue,
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  Speaker 2: then you're able to build infrastructure that provide clean, healthy
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  Speaker 2: and safe communities.
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  Speaker 1: But they're worried about an oil spill, you know, they're
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  Speaker 1: worried about in these very sensitive ecosystems, these you know,
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  Speaker 1: in these coastal waters and these little I mean, they're
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  Speaker 1: worried about that. Maybe that's not something that is as
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  Speaker 1: much of a concern where you.
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  Speaker 2: Are well understandably understandably, there's no risk in everything that
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  Speaker 2: we do with today's technology, in today's practices, there's a
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  Speaker 2: lot of mitigation processes that are in place to mitigate
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  Speaker 2: such risks. You can't do it, you know, one hundred percent.
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  Speaker 2: You just don't know what you know can come your
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  Speaker 2: way in terms of you know, just an we're seeing circumstances.
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  Speaker 2: Sometimes the acts of God can make things happen, which
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  Speaker 2: you know, the environment in your territory.
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  Speaker 1: The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Sinny
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  Speaker 1: Woodhouse Neebanac was speaking earlier today. I want to just
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  Speaker 1: play a clip from a short time ago. It just
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  Speaker 1: gets you to react to what she had to say
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  Speaker 1: with regard to MATI and First Nations. Let's just listen.
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  Speaker 3: Canada can create all the MOUs project offices advisory groups
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  Speaker 3: that they want, but chiefs are united. When it comes
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  Speaker 3: to approving large national projects on First Nations lands, there
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  Speaker 3: will not be getting around rights holders. That's another reason
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  Speaker 3: outstanding First Nations Treaty rights must be reconciled before others
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  Speaker 3: because may T rights do not include rights over First
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  Speaker 3: Nations lands, territories and resources. First Nations, with the exception
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  Speaker 3: of the Inuit, are the only true landowners of these
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  Speaker 3: traditional territories.
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  Speaker 1: So what's what's your reaction to her comment there?
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  Speaker 2: Well, under Section thirty five of the Canadian Constitution, we're
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  Speaker 2: all named as Indigenous rights holders, including the First Nations,
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  Speaker 2: Inuit and media people. And we are indigenous people. You know,
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  Speaker 2: we keep our language, we keep our culture. Most of
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  Speaker 2: our communities keep the language. And that's that's all I
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  Speaker 2: can say. And I think we're part of the you know,
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  Speaker 2: some of us are more indigenous then we see, you know,
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  Speaker 2: people that are out there.
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  Speaker 1: So are you worried that this is pitting different communities
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  Speaker 1: against each other? This kind of proposal absolutely.
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  Speaker 2: I think the that's the fear is having indigenous groups
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  Speaker 2: fight each other. I think we all need to come
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  Speaker 2: together to a common resolve. I think we need to
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  Speaker 2: understand each other, you know, put us in the same
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  Speaker 2: room and talk. You know what this means for every
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  Speaker 2: First nations? What are the pros and the cons And
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  Speaker 2: we need to you know, look at the common interest
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  Speaker 2: and see how we can all get there.
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  Speaker 1: Sir, I appreciate you taking the time. Thank you. Dave Lemouche,
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  Speaker 1: President of the Mati Settlement, General Counsel of Alberta,