Indigenous Sovereignty

The Alberta government is failing in its constitutional duty to properly notify First Nations of oilsands leases on their traditional lands -a practice that could lead to a Supreme Court challenge, says a University of Calgary aboriginal law expert.

Nigel Bankes, who is also the university's chair of Natural Resources Law, said the government's policy of simply posting lease sales online and not going to First Nations directly doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

"I'd say the province isn't doing a good job," Bankes said. "Particularly when it comes to granting oilsands rights, because they basically say, 'We can fulfil our duty simply by posting stuff on our website.' I don't think that's real consultation."

The issue is a part of a number of cases being brought to Alberta's courts by Athabasca River aboriginal communities who are fighting the pace of oilsands development.... Read more »

The Alberta government is failing in its constitutional duty to properly notify First Nations of oilsands leases on their traditional lands -- a practice that could lead to a Supreme Court challenge, says a University of Calgary aboriginal law expert.

Nigel Bankes, who is also the university's chair of Natural Resources Law, said the government's policy of simply posting lease sales online and not going to First Nations directly doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

"I'd say the province isn't doing a good job," Bankes said. "Particularly when it comes to granting oilsands rights, because they basically say, 'We can fulfil our duty simply by posting stuff on our website.' I don't think that's real consultation."

The Muskoday Organic Growers Co-op and Heifer International Canada think Saskatchewan First Nations could sharply reduce on-reserve unemployment by growing Saskatchewan's vegetables organically. At Muskoday First Nation near Prince Albert, organic production is already underway.

In 1999, the community launched an initiative to produce potatoes and harvested about 450 tonnes. The band-managed project obtained sufficient training grants to hire every employable welfare recipient in the community to work on the farm for six months. This was sufficient time to qualify for employment insurance, which in turn opened doors to further training.... Read more »

French activist investor PhiTrust Active Investors is to quiz Total SA on the tar sands issue at the oil major’s forthcoming annual shareholder meeting.
PhiTrust says it will table a resolution on the risks involved in its tar sands operations in Alberta, Canada.
Fellow oil firms BP and Shell have faced similar shareholder resolutions on the tar sands issue in the past, but PhiTrust claims it is the first such resolution in France. Total is set to hold its Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in Paris on May 13.

Total has interests in several tar sands projects in Alberta’s Athabasca region through its Total E&P Canada subsidiary. In January it received conditional approval for its Joslyn North Mine Project, about 70km north of Fort McMurray – increasing Alberta’s approved mineable project area by about 7%.... Read more »