Forrest, Scott & Marc: Baker Lake Cree -- Action proposal

Background

The Beaver Lake Cree nation filed suit against the Government of Canada on May 14, 2008, alleging tribal rights guaranteed under Treaty No. 6 were being violated by Tar Sand extraction and processing. Specifically, the vitiated rights include a number of game and range use guarantees the Cree were granted in exchange for giving up property rights.1  Simultaneously, the Tribe released the Kétuskéno Declaration, which notes that potentially harmful activities can only be undertaken on tribal land if extensive consultation takes place beforehand. A similar case, Tsilhqot’in First Nation v. British Columbia, returned a result favourable to the plaintiff in 2007. Essentially, “The Tsilhqot'in Nation was declared to have hunting and trapping rights, the right to capture wild horses, and the right to trade skins and pelts as required to secure a moderate livelihood; those rights were declared to have been unjustifiably infringed by the provincial forestry and land use planning regimes.”2 The case has since garnered media attention at home and abroad, and financial support from such agencies as the UK’s Co-operative Bank. The efforts of this small Native community are effectively becoming an international vehicle to challenge the oil sands project and its planned expansion through the controversial Northern Gateway Pipeline.

Objectives

Directing Questions

How can international law be applied to this case? 

How can we draw a meaningful precedent from this case to contribute to the advancement of human rights social justice in similar cases around the world?

Goals

Establish a solid knowledge base of the domestic legal situation (relevant legislation, prior case outcomes and what can be inferred therefrom).

Research tangible connection to international law (relevant statutes and treaties, international precedents, applicable case studies).

Lay the conceptual foundation for an international court case.

Attempt to bring visibility to and draw material support for the issue.

Member Projects

Forrest Barnum:

Examine international environmental law and see if it can be applied to the Beaver Lake Nation’s situation.

Scott Goosenberg

Conduct a comparative historical analysis of past pipeline projects that had a negative impact on neighboring aboriginal groups.

Analyze the circumstances surrounding these pipeline projects, both prior and subsequent to completion, in order to discern a viable framework that the Beaver Lake Cree nation can employ in order to bring attention to their cause.

Marc Levesque

Explore how claims made by the Beaver Lake Cree in a native rights context can be expanded to general claims about environmental preservation as an international human right.

Comments

[Michael Byers]

You'll want to look into the history of the Lubicon First Nation and their struggle, which included a victory at the UN Human Rights Committee that has yet to be complied with by Canada. Amnesty International has a great website on this: http://www.amnesty.ca/lubicon/

You should also do some research into the different international mechanisms that might be available, including at the UN and the Organization of American States. In that context, please look into the complaint that Sheila Watt-Cloutier and 60 other Inuit filed against the United States.

Finally, I'd like you guys collectively to write a draft letter to Jack Woodward laying out, in just a couple of pages, the things you'd like to discuss with him: questions, ideas, possible international mechanisms.

This is an exciting project!

[Dave Morgan]

Out of curiousity, if the Beaver Lake Cree nation wins this suit, what will be the outcome? A halt to the expansion of the Tar Sands? Greater consultation?

By the way, we're going to be looking into water usage at the Tar Sands, if that's of any use or interest to you.

[Matt Robinson]

If your research takes any of you in the direction of CEAA (Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency), and I would guess that it will, I can probably hook you up for coffee with the person who is responsible for developing CEAA's Aboriginal Consultation policy. She's incredibly knowledgable about the field, will definitely know about the Tsilhqot’in case, and would presumably have something useful to offer you guys.

Talk to me in class if you're interested! Cheers.

[Frank Halderman]

I found a website that provided some additional background information regarding your issue - it might be of interest to some of our classmates.

http://www.raventrust.com/projects.html

As the level of education increases amongst the First Nations peoples, it is most impressive to see that they are better able to organize, use technology to their advantage (as in this website) and, therefore, better articulate their positions.

On CBC AM690 radio, yesterday, there was an a great program on Fish Lake (Tetzan Biny), BC in which the BC Assembly of First Nations is fighting its use as a tailings pond for a proposed mine.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/296989

[Mo]

Just another source to check, more in the context of the Canadian government's position on Tar Sands:
http://thetyee.ca/News/2010/10/20/EuropeDecidesFate/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=251010
Mo.

[Pablo Antezana]

From a comparative perspective, this information about Peru might be useful:

http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/6580

Also, I would recommend you to take a look at this book:

http://books.google.com.bo/books?id=fvh6RLKzmsMC&pg=PA262&lpg=PA262&dq=orinoco+venezuela+indigenous+groups+affected&source=bl&ots=1uooE2y5TM&sig=lQ2v5jUxBdeauVTh6Lxns_0oCSI&hl=en&ei=MuTRTOb3IYa4sAOk2vH1Cg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=orinoco%20venezuela%20indigenous%20groups%20affected&f=false

Cheers.

[Josh]

Canada just signed the UN Declaration on the RIghts of Indigenous Peoples, how do you suppose that will effect the current case?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/ottawa-wins-praise-for-endorsing-un-indigenous-rights-declaration/article1797339/