N.B. fracking protests and the fight for Frist Nation Rights
Channel: GroundHog News
Date: 2013-10-22

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N.B. fracking protests and the fight for aboriginal rights
Duty to consult at core of conflict over shale gas development
Concerns about fracking are widespread, especially for people who live near those operations,
Protests this month at a potential shale gas site in New Brunswick involve an issue that has been at the heart of resource development battles across Canada — the duty to consult and accommodate aboriginal people when the development is on their traditional land.

The latest round of the protests by Elsipogtog First Nation members and their supporters resulted in a violent clash Thursday when the RCMP moved in to enforce a court injunction against the protesters' blockade.

But long before that, local First Nations leaders were raising concerns about the failure of government and industry to consult with them before development went ahead.

Rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada and lower courts have established a duty to consult and accommodate aboriginal people when development is considered on their land, even non-reserve traditional lands. Since the mid-'80s, aboriginal groups have recorded 186 victories in lawsuits over resource development, a 90 per cent success rate.

"First Nations have far more legal rights than most Canadians understand," Ken Coates, one of Canada's leading experts on aboriginal issues told CBC Radio in Moncton. The University of Saskatchewan professor explained that the Supreme Court "has made it absolutely, unequivocally clear that First Nations people have to be consulted... and accommodated."

Coates said it's not about special treatment, "It means following the law."