OPEN LETTER: MINISTER CAROLYN BENNETT - JOINT RESPONSE TO OAG REPORT "Taking Action, Building Trust"
January 5, 2017
Dear Minister Bennett,
We are a long-standing national group of specific claims research directors working on behalf of Indigenous Nations and committed to the just, fair, and timely resolution of specific claims in Canada. Here we present a response to the November 2016 report by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), First Nations Specific Claims—Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). This response, called Taking Action, Building Trust, translates recommendations from the audit process into concrete, tangible actions that Canada can undertake within the next six months.
Harper Lake Logging: Cutting Down Neskonlith’s Title and Rights
(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – December 20, 2016) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), supports the Neskonlith Indian Band’s demands that the province rescind a permit issued for logging 28 hectares of Secwepemc territory near Harper Lake south of Chase. The Crown cut blocks are just above Neskonlith reserve #2, an ecologically sensitive area for Rocky Mountain Elk and a contentious area near the land disputed in the 1999 Harper Lake Logging Case.
Read moreUBCIC Congratulates the Huu-ay-aht First Nation on Resolution of 68-Year-Old Logging Rights Case
(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – December 16, 2016) Sixty-eight years after the Huu-ay-aht First Nation first challenged Canada’s unlawful issuance of a long-term logging licence on the community’s reserve lands, the Specific Claims Tribunal has awarded the Nation compensation of $13.88 million. The Union of BC Indian Chiefs congratulates Huu-ay-aht First Nation on the successful resolution of this claim and strongly condemns Canada’s conduct in the proceedings.
Read morePrime Minister: You failed to do your job by approving pipelines
Dear Prime Minister,
You completely failed to do your job when you arrogantly announced that you were acting in the national interest by approving the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) and Enbridge Line 3 pipelines. Your main job as leader of Canada is to protect Canadians’ health and safety.
Read moreAuditor General’s Report Exposes Systemic Government Mismanagement of Specific Claims
(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – December 1, 2016) This week the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) tabled its much anticipated report on its audit of the specific claims process.
Read moreOf Climate Change and Relationships: Federal Approval of Kinder Morgan and Line 3 a Total Betrayal
(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – November 29, 2016) Today, Canada approved the Kinder Morgan Trans-Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipeline and Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline, while dismissing the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline and committing to advance a tanker moratorium on the north coast of British Columbia.
Read moreConsent
(Coast Salish Territory / Vancouver, B.C. – November 6, 2016) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs completely rejects and repudiates the federal Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr's recent asinine statement that Canada only needs to consult and accommodate the concerns, interests and rights of First Nations regarding the approval of proposed resource development projects such as Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion project or Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipelines project.
Read moreSlick Panel Report Deepens Conflict On Kinder Morgan TMX
(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – November 03, 2016) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) remains steadfast in their outright opposition to the Kinder Morgan (KM) Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) Pipeline, despite today’s sunny report by the Ministerial Panel.
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