Bill 22 still under attack by First Nations leaders

Cameron Alexis, Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, has slammed the provincial government for moving ahead on Bill 22, despite government claims that the bill is only enabling legislation.

“We should be absolutely consulted prior to a legislation becoming law. And we didn’t see that,” Alexis told a vocal crowd of about 150 on the steps of the Legislature on May 24.

The rally was organized to protest the sale of Alberta water, but Alexis took the opportunity to pan Aboriginal Relations Minister Robin Campbell’s move to push through Bill 22, which sets an industry levy for Aboriginal consultation on economic development.

“The Alberta government has now said they’re going to put a levy on Aboriginal consultation….We have to be in totality consulted. And that’s not happening,” he said.

Alexis’ comments follow a meeting Campbell had with Treaty 6 leaders a week earlier.

 “They raised some concerns over the legislation I brought forward (and) we’ve resolved that. I think we both left the table very happy… there was a lot of misinformation about what the bill was actually about,” said Campbell.

Alexis’ comments indicate a different point of view of that meeting.

Bill 22 was introduced on the heels of the province’s draft policy on First Nations Consultation Policy on Land and Natural Resource Management. The government was soliciting comments on that draft policy. The government did not solicit comments on Bill 22 nor was that bill provided in draft format to First Nations.
Bill 22 directs industry to pay fees into a pot to be collected by the government, which would then have its newly created one-stop centralized consultation office distribute the funds to First Nations and Aboriginal groups.

This money would then be used to undertake consultation on proposed industry projects. The bill does not provide details on how this will be undertaken.

“All the bill does is give me the ability to set up a fund,” said Campbell. “We still have to work out all the details.”

Who pays, how much, and how money will be distributed will be determined through regulations and that will be worked out with industry and First Nations “at the table, sitting down, having those discussions,” said Campbell.

“We’re taking our time. We want to get it done right. We want to make sure that First Nations do have real input into the policy and that industry has real input into the policy. So we’ll get there,” he said.

Campbell plans to have the First Nations Consultation Policy on Land and Natural Resource Management in place by fall.

Herb Arcand, acting Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations, asked that Bill 22 be deferred to the fall sitting.
However, on May 13, Government MLAs voted down two motions that would have deferred the bill. Two weeks later, on May 27, Bill 22, the Aboriginal Consultation Levy Act, received royal assent. However, there has been no indication of when it will be proclaimed into force in Alberta.

In a news release issued by the Onion Lake Cree Nation, Chief Wallace Fox said that the continued pushing of the consultation policy “only acts to aggravate an already strained relationship between First Nations and the Governments of Alberta and Canada.”

Photo caption: Alberta Regional Chief Cameron Alexis (with microphone), of the Assembly of First Nations, used a rally on the steps of the Legislature to call for full consultation by all levels of government, saying, “The Elders keep telling us, that we must be very vocal when it comes down to treaty rights.”