Alberta Oilsands Facing

Aboriginal Legal Onslaught in

2014
Presentation by Garret Gurt Cordingley, original article
by CBC

Pre-Reading Questions
Is this an issue regarding the Government of Canada or individual companies?
Is it a specific group or the whole Aboriginal community that is involved?
Why are the Aboriginal groups upset at either the Government or the Corporations?

Summarization
The government has rewritten the recourse development guidebook that violates the
rights and ignores the recommendations of Aboriginal groups.
The Fort McKay Nation is appealing an approval of Brion Energys plan to extract oil
north of Fort McMurray.
The Mikisew Cree and Frog Lake First Nation are arguing that changes to the Fisheries
and Navigable Waters Act conflicts with their rights.
The Fort McKay Nation has pulled support from the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring
program.
The Lubicon Cree First Nation are again attempting to obtain a reserve and royalties on
the resources extracted from their land.

Pre-Reading Question Answers

Is this an issue regarding the Government of Canada or
individual companies?
Both, while most issues are related to the Government, there are a
couple that are related to large corporations.

Pre-Reading Question Answers

Is it a specific group or the whole Aboriginal community that is
involved?
Individual groups are acting independently on their issues, not very
many groups have the same issue.

Pre-Reading Question Answers

Why are the Aboriginal groups upset at either the Government
or the Corporations?
The Aboriginal groups are upset at the government and the large
corporations because they believe the government and corporations
are disrespecting their rights.

UNDRIP
Article 7
2. States shall provide effective mechanisms for prevention of, and
redress for: (b) Any action which has the aim or effect of
dispossessing them of their lands, territories or resources.

UNDRIP
Article 17
2 States shall in consultation and cooperation with indigenous
peoples take specific measures to protect indigenous children from
economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely
to be hazardous or to interfere with the childs education, or to be
harmful to the childs health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or
social development, taking into account their special vulnerability
and the importance of education for their empowerment.

UNDRIP
Article 18
Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making
in matters which would affect their rights, through representatives
chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as
well as to maintain and develop their own indigenous decision
making institutions.

After-Reading Questions
How did these issues resolve?
Are the Indigenous groups still upset, even two years later?
Have the Indigenous groups received full rights?

Should Canada be seen as a

successful example of the
fulfillment of the United Nations
Declaration on Rights if
Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)?

Fin

Bibliography
Press, The Canadian. "Alberta Oilsands Facing Aboriginal Legal Onslaught in 2014." CBCnews. CBC/Radio
Canada, 02 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Dec. 2016.