Premier McNeil has said he didn’t know that a government lawyer was calling the Mi’kmaq a conquered people in court, and the duty to consult non-existent. The language may have been more subdued, but that same lawyer made the same argument in June, and that he held these controversial views was widely known.
Arguing in court that the Sipekne’katik Band is a conquered people and that therefore the duty to consult does not apply is exactly the wrong thing to do for the McNeil government, writes contributor Art Bouman. But he isn’t surprised, it’s all about money and fossil fuels.
Ken Summers takes the pulse of the Alton Gas project in light of the company’s recent announcement that it will not begin its brining operation this year. The company’s future here doesn’t look quite as bright as it did say three years ago. It’s what happens when you’re not welcome.
Some ordinary people fighting environmental hazards in their backyards, and a bunch of students as well, showed up at the start of the fall session at Province House, and they aren’t very happy with the Liberal government.
A four-day Mi’kma’ki Water Symposium offers a unique opportunity to explore the many issues that are impacting our Mother Earth and water and the protectors of the water, here in Mi’kmaki. We talked to Dorene Bernard, one of the organizers.
Chances are that Justin Trudeau,federal ministers and Stephen McNeil are going to find their inboxes and Facebook and Twitter timelines rather full this week. The group that is trying to stop Alton Gas from dumping brine into the vulnerable Shubenacadie River kicked off a one-week social media blitz to make the politicians aware of the issues.
Protesters at Province House had a simple message for Alton Gas. Go away!
A delegation of the Sipeknekatik Band traveled to New Brunswick to demand that Dominic Leblanc, the federal minister of Fisheries and Oceans, use his power to halt the Alton Gas project. The group asserted their treaty rights and warned that the river will be defended, whatever that may take.
This weekend’s featured video is a very good new documentary about the residents, First Nations people, fishers and naturalists fighting for a pristine Shubenacadie RIver and the rural lifestyle that made them settle in the community.