The British Columbia
Environmental Network
Search the Site
| EVENT CALENDAR | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2008 | ||||||
| s | m | t | w | t | f | s |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | ||
Today's News
November 10, 2005: Government in jam over Tahltan dispute
From the Terrace Standard on-line:
Government in jam over Tahltan dispute
By Rod Link
Nov 09 2005
THE PROVINCIAL government is going to have to decide soon who speaks for the Tahltan people north of here when it comes to their involvement on industrial development on their traditional territory, says a cabinet minister.
It's a situation made complicated because of an internal Tahltan dispute over who carries enough authority to make decisions on behalf of the Tahltan people, says mines minister Bill Bennett.
Part of the problem is there is no clear definition of what constitutes enough consultation of native people leading up to the government deciding to approve or deny industrial development, Bennett continued.
The Tahltan situation is being driven by the increasing number of mining companies eyeing potentially billions of dollars of investment on Tahltan traditional territory in response to a growing world--wide demand for gold, copper and other metals. Also at stake is Premier Gordon Campbell's "new relationship" plan in which he wants nattive people to become part of mainstream economic decision making.
The flashpoint to date has been the plan by Fortune Minerals to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to develop an open pit mine in the Klappan area which could result in a 20-year operation taking out up to three million of tonnes a coal a year. A group of Tahltan elders and others has questioned the legitimacy of a Tahltan governing group to sign deals with Fortune or any other mining company.
They say the Tahltan Central Council, which contains representatives of the 10 main Tahltan clans, does not speak for all elders or all of the estimated 6,000 Tahltan people. The group blocked road access into the Klappan in July, leading to Fortune receiving a court injunction ordering the blockade to be lifted. Fifteen Tahltan were arrested at the blockade in September for defying the court order.
"At some point the the province has to decide if the Tahltan Central Council speaks for the Tahltan people or not," said Bennett last week. "If we go ahead with a decision based on consultation with the Tahltan Central Council and this group of elders takes us to court, what then," he added.
Bennett said that while the courts have said native groups do not have a veto over developments and does require them to be consulted and accommodated, the process of determining the level of consultation required is far more murky.
"When is enough, enough," said Bennett. "Is there a formula to determine the amount of resources for consultation? How can we come to that?" If anything, Bennett said the provincial government wants to be ahead of the curve when it comes to consultation with native groups instead of having to rely on the courts to come up with definitions. As for the Tahltan internal dispute, Bennett said that¹s something, so far, for the Tahltan themselves to resolve. But he noted no government group of any kind can have the complete backing nor approval of its constituents. ³I know there is a reluctance on the part of government not to do anything to offend First Nations people,² Bennett continued. ³But at some point we have to agree on who talks to who. Perhaps it is the Tahltan Central Council who speaks for the Tahltan people in meetings with government. The B.C. Liberals were not elected unanimously, either,² he said.
Bennett said he understands why Fortune sought its court injunction but is happy it is not taking legal action against those Tahltan who were arrested. "If I were a mining company and couldn¹t use a road I had a lawful right to use, I¹d be concerned about my obligations to the shareholders," he added. "I think it is a good thing Fortune decided not to pursue legal action. In this particular situation there was nothing to be gained," Bennett continued.
"I know there is a slice of the northwest community that won¹t like this and they would want some punishment for what would appear to be a breaking of the law. But I don¹t think we¹re there yet." Bennett said the province recognizes the pressure being put on the Tahltan to become involved in the environmental and other assessments from the growing number of companies wanting developments on their traditional territory.
"I agree there is still a deficiency when it comes to capacity," he said in referring to the ability of the Tahltan Central Council to review projects contemplated for Tahltan traditional territory. The list includes not only Fortune Minerals but the potential world class copper and gold property NovaGold at a place called Galore Creek. And although the province has stayed out of the Tahltan internal dispute, Bennett said it did give the Tahltan Central Council $150,000 in August to develop its own ways of handling the dispute.
Topic(s): Fist Nations News, Healthy Communities News, mining news, Political News, Poor Performers
Posted By ECOBC
RSS
More Today's News Articles