Premier John HorganB次元官网网址檚 effort to pioneer the United NationsB次元官网网址� Indigenous rights declaration in B.C. law fuelled blockades aimed at stopping his governmentB次元官网网址檚 signature natural gas project, a new study concludes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should heed the results of B.C. legislation adopting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People before he fulfils his promise to follow suit on a national level, Indigenous rights specialist Tom Flanagan concludes for the Fraser Institute published Tuesday.
When B.C. passed its framework law in November 2019, Horgan and his Indigenous Relations Minister Scott Fraser repeatedly said it does not constitute a veto, despite its adoption of the UNDRIP principle of B次元官网网址渇ree, prior and informed consentB次元官网网址� by Indigenous people over resource development in their traditional territories.
Premier says begins work on in January, after B次元官网网址�200 years of colonial activityB次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址� Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc)
Flanagan notes that B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Bill 41 promises to both adopt the principles of UNDRIP and exempt B.C. laws from it, with B次元官网网址渁mbiguous languageB次元官网网址� that Indigenous advocates have interpreted as they see fit.
B次元官网网址淭he adoption of Bill 41 led directly to the proliferation of blockades on Canadian National Railway lines,B次元官网网址� Flanagan writes. B次元官网网址淭hose traditional WetB次元官网网址檚uwetB次元官网网址檈n chiefs who oppose the presence of the Coastal GasLink pipeline in their territory claimed that Bill 41 gave them a right to veto construction.B次元官网网址�
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Efforts by Fraser and federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett to negotiate with pipeline opponents have been repeatedly rebuffed with the same response: RCMP and Coastal GasLink must leave WetB次元官网网址檚uwetB次元官网网址檈n asserted territory, despite extensive consultation, local benefit agreements with all five WetB次元官网网址檚uwetB次元官网网址檈n communities and 15 others, and a court order to clear roadblocks at worksites in northwestern B.C. The same demand was echoed by Mohawk protests in Ontario and Quebec, and student protests that attempted to blockade the opening of the B.C. legislature.
B次元官网网址淥ne faction of one of these 20 first nations B次元官网网址� some but not all of the hereditary chiefs of the WetB次元官网网址檚uwetB次元官网网址檈n B次元官网网址� opposed the pipelines in spite of the agreements and tried to block construction in the face of two court injunctions,B次元官网网址� Flanagan writes. B次元官网网址淭heir supporters felled trees across the road, partially cut other trees for mantraps, and stockpiled raw ingredients for making firebombs.B次元官网网址�
Indigenous Relations Minister says talks were not a negotiation
B次元官网网址� Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc)
Flanagan notes that former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has warned that UNDRIP canB次元官网网址檛 be imposed over Canadian law, but must be expressed through Section 35 of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Ousted as justice minister by Trudeau, Wilson-Raybould is a lawyer, a member of the Kwagiulth people of the B.C. coast, and daughter of Hemas Kla-Lee-Lee-Kla (Bill Wilson), one of the architects of aboriginal rights in CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Constitution Act of 1982.
B.C.B次元官网网址檚 adoption of Bill 41 has little immediate effect on provincial law, but its effect on the UN itself soon after it passed in November.
B次元官网网址淚n early January 2020, three major projects came under attack from a UN agency on B次元官网网址榝ree, prior and informed consentB次元官网网址� grounds,B次元官网网址� Flanagan writes. B次元官网网址淭he Site C hydroelectric project in northeastern B.C., the Coastal GasLink pipeline connecting B.C. gas fields to the projected LNG plant in Kitimat, and the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion from Alberta to Vancouver.B次元官网网址�
The call to stop work on all three projects came from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, whose includes China, Japan, Senegal, Turkey, Peru, Germany and Qatar.
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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