Chippewas of the Thames Raising Funds To Assert Their Treaty Rights At Supreme Court of Canada
Chippewas Of The Thames--In
less than two months, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation will appear
in the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) to assert their right to
consultation and argue that the Canadian government failed in this
regard for the heavily contested Enbridge Line 9 pipeline. This
challenge comes amidst a wave of resistance to pipelines and a
heightened profile for issues of consultation with Indigenous
communities. But the path to court is made difficult beyond the legal
argument as COTTFN has to finance the legal defence of their rights
against treaty violation, which they anticipate will reach half a
million dollars. $50,000 has been raised so far, and for the remainder,
COTTFN’s fundraising and awareness campaign is intensifying with a new
video and website highlighting issues of the case and foregrounding
voices from the community.
COTTFN is challenging the Canadian
government’s approach to consultation, arguing that based on treaty and
Canadian law, the federal government is directly responsible for
consulting Indigenous communities on projects that will affect them, and
the National Energy Board (NEB) is not a substitute. Clyde River Inuit
is simultaneously challenging the lack of consultation in the NEB
process which approved seismic blasting exploration in the waters
surrounding their community. The recent successful challenge to the
Northern Gateway pipeline addressed similar issues, with the ultimate
ruling affirming the Canadian government’s legal duty to consult.
COTTFN’s case will argue specifically that the NEB cannot substitute for
the government in consultation.
Throughout the Line 9 planning
process, COTTFN made it clear that they wanted their voice heard. They
took part in the NEB hearings for the pipeline, articulating their
concerns to the review panel, while insisting that this process was not a
substitute for consultation. As band councillor Myeengun Henry explains
in the new video, these issues can be traced back to the pipeline’s
origins: “Forty years ago our people were still in residential school.
When there was a process that brought this pipeline through our
traditional territory, we were never consulted at all. So they just
built this pipeline without any acknowledgement of the First Nations in
the area.”
COTTFN filed their initial legal appeal on April 8,
2014, well before the line was operational, yet in the delay preceding
this hearing in the SCC, Enbridge has been operating the pipeline and
profiting immensely from the flow of oil, including tar sands and
fracked oil, through it.
These oil products are of grave concern
not only to COTTFN, but to communities across the continent in the path
of pipelines and oil trains. As we experience the hottest year on
record, pipeline projects are being met with increasing opposition,
including the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and Energy East. Councillor
Henry concludes, “We know of the damaging impacts of the tar sands,
fracking, and other extractive industries have on our earth yet these
developments continue with government protection. This is why COTTFN is
developing a protocol to engage with proposed plans that would affect
our territory. We believe that protecting the water and land, requiring
sustainable development, adapting to climate change, and ensuring a
safe home for future generations must be central to this protocol.”
COTTFN is inviting donations from individuals and groups and encourages people to visit chippewassolidarity.org
for more information about the case and to watch and share the video,
“Defending Deshkaan Ziibi: Challenging the Line 9 Pipeline.”
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