Aboriginal rights a threat to Canada's resource agenda . . .

[Oscar]

Aboriginal rights a threat to Canada's resource agenda, documents reveal

[ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... rce-agenda ]

Martin Lukacs, Guardian, 4 March 2014

Canadian government closely monitoring how legal rulings and aboriginal protest pose an increasing 'risk' for multi-billion dollar oil and mining plans

The Canadian government is increasingly worried that the growing clout of aboriginal peoples' rights could obstruct its aggressive resource development plans, documents reveal.

Since 2008, the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs has run a risk management program to evaluate and respond to "significant risks" to its agenda, including assertions of treaty rights, the rising expectations of aboriginal peoples, and new legal precedents at odds with the government's policies.

Yearly government reports obtained by the Guardian predict that the failure to manage the risks could result in more "adversarial relations" with aboriginal peoples, "public outcry and negative international attention," and "economic development projects [being] delayed."

"There is a risk that the legal landscape can undermine the ability of the department to move forward in its policy agenda," one Aboriginal Affairs' report says. "There is a tension between the rights-based agenda of Aboriginal groups and the non-rights based policy approaches" of the federal government.

The Conservative government is planning in the next ten years to attract $650 billion of investment to mining, forestry, gas and oil projects, much of it on or near traditional aboriginal lands.

Critics say the government is determined to evade Supreme Court rulings that recognize aboriginal peoples' rights to a decision-making role in, even in some cases jurisdiction over, resource development in large areas of the country.

"The Harper government is committed to a policy of extinguishing indigenous peoples' land rights, instead of a policy of recognition and co-existence," said Arthur Manuel, chair of the Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade, which has lead an effort to have the economic implications of aboriginal rights identified as a financial risk.

"They are trying to contain the threat that our rights pose to business-as-usual and the expansion of dirty energy projects. But our
legal challenges and direct actions are creating economic uncertainty and risk, raising the heat on the government to change its current policies."

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs declined to answer the Guardian's questions, but sent a response saying the risk reports are compiled from internal reviews and "targeted interviews with senior management in those areas experiencing significant change."

"The [corporate risk profile] is designed as an analytical tool for planning and not a public document. A good deal of [its] content would only be understandable to those working for the department as it speaks to the details of the operations of specific programs."

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[ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... rce-agenda ]

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QUOTE: "Fortunately for us, none of those crippling obstacles stand in Centor’s way. CNTO’s oil-soaked acres are virtually surrounded by existing infrastructure. There are no native issues, and the company is enjoying a pro-development government, not to mention favorable royalties. " - - - EXCERPT FROM CENTOR ENERGY INC (CNTO). - "The Meyers' Newsletter": Canada’s Secret Savior: The Oil Shales of Saskatchewan" [ http://www.centornews.com/] January 2014