Athabasca draft plan offers little for First Nations

A draft plan to guide development in the Lower Athabasca region in northern Alberta has been met with strong disapproval by the Athabasca Chipewyan and Mikisew Cree First Nations.

“First Nations don’t have a lot of capacity or a lot of resources. We put a lot of what little we had into (the regional plan). This was really important to us. We explained that, made the government aware of how important it was to us and we just feel really let down,” said Melody Lepine, director of government and industry relations, with Mikisew Cree.

First Nations representatives hold that Alberta Sustainable Resource Development’s draft plan is focused on development and will help industry. The government will be honouring existing petroleum and natural gas leases in the newly declared protected areas, but industrial development activities such as surface mining for oilsands and minerals will not be allowed.
Approximately 25 energy and mineral companies will be compensated for the amount spent on leases in those areas as well as for money spent on work done on the lease.

Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation said treaty rights that First Nations continue to gain will mean little with such legislation.

 “The land-use plan has been watered down to cater to industry. If it keeps going that direction, there will be no where to exercise our treaty rights,” said Adam.

The First Nations recommended 40 per cent of the region be classified as protected area; the draft plan has designated 16 per cent as protected area.

The plan also does little to help with the protection of woodland caribou.

“There’s little protection because it’s only going to be in certain areas. With the influx of people coming in, there’s no access management plan,” said Adam.

Late last year, the First Nations of Athabasca Chipewyan, Beaver Lake Cree, and Enoch Cree began litigation against the federal government asking the court to force Environment Minister Jim Prentice to prepare a recovery strategy for woodland caribou and to recommend that Cabinet make an emergency order to protect woodland caribou in northeastern Alberta under the Species at Risk Act. The First Nations were joined in their court battle by two environmental groups, the Alberta Wilderness Association and Pembina Institution.

Both Adam and Lepine said they provided extensive material to the provincial government in drafting LARP as well as participated in Land-Use framework and regional advisory council meetings.

“We thought we were doing a pretty good job in providing them with information, what it was we were asking for,” said Lepine. “The consultation process for them was just going through the motions. It wasn’t really meaningful in terms of incorporating any substantial input from us.”

ACFN is contemplating taking legal action against the provincial government.

“Enough is enough,” said Adam. “It’s time to launch a case on this. We’re working on that already.”

Lepine said the Mikisew Cree are not opposed to taking legal action but right now the First Nation will remain focused on the second round of LARP consultations in May.

Albertans have 60 days to respond to the draft plan, which was released April 5.