Inuit: Ruling on rights may affect hydro project

1/9/2013

Tuesday’s landmark decision on aboriginal rights should affect the Lower Churchill hydroelectric project, says the head of a group that has threatened to derail the project.

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador brokered deals to approve the project with two aboriginal groups holding established land claims in Labrador.

But it did not deal with the NunatuKavut, an Inuit group in southern Labrador. That’s because the federal government does not recognize the NunatuKavut land claim.

But the group’s leader was jubilant Tuesday after Canada’s federal court ruled that Metis and non-status Indians are to be recognized as Indians under the Constitution Act.

“It’s a great day,” said NunatuKavut community council president Todd Russell.

“Our status has been validated in the sense that we have equal standing to the Innu of Labrador and the north coast Inuit.”

If the decision holds up — the case is expected to be appealed up to the Supreme Court of Canada — it will have major implications for the federal government’s obligations to the NunatuKavut.

What’s less clear is whether the decision could affect Lower Churchill. Russell believes it will reshape a legal landscape that has so far worked against the group, which claims 6,000 members.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court recently ruled the group cannot protest within 50 metres of Muskrat Falls work sites. Russell says the group will appeal this ruling and will refuse to change their behaviour in the meantime.

He said this week’s decision shows the province has a duty to consult his group before moving ahead with the project.

“I think there’s a lot more risk in pursuing the status quo than there is looking at a better way forward,” said Russell.

“Obviously, if the status quo remains, the project is going to be impacted by the possibility of more underground action, more legal action.

“I believe our standing, from a legal perspective, has been enhanced.”

The Newfoundland and Labrador government did not say Tuesday whether Lower Churchill could be affected by the ruling.

“Government will require time to review this decision before providing comment,” said Aboriginal Affairs Secretariat spokesman Roger Scaplen.

The NunatuKavut have said they deserve to be compensated for allowing the transmission line to run through their territory, though they have not yet outlined specific terms.

In the past, Russell has threatened that the group will do everything in its power to derail the project if they continue to be excluded, including disrupting construction.

(The Chronicle Herald)