Lyle Aspinall/ QMI Agency
“This time we’re going to take it all the way and we’re going see first hand what the government were thinking when they went ahead and developed this plan without First Nations’ involvement.” – Allan Adam, chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
The Globe and Mail reports, “The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation has launched a constitutional challenge to Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s application for approval of the proposed Jackpine oil sands mine expansion, saying neither the company nor the government has adequately consulted or accommodated its treaty rights. If successful, the groundbreaking legal action by the Indian band would create a major new hurdle for oil sands proponents, forcing them to work with federal and provincial governments to fully consult aboriginal communities before they get a permit to proceed.”
The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation website is at www.acfn.com. To read Council of Canadians energy campaigner Maryam Adrangi’s blog on the Shell application and the ACFN challenge, please see http://canadians.org/blog/?p=16785. The Globe and Mail news report can be read at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/first-nations-band-files-treaty-rights-challenge-against-shell/article4580799/.
