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Vancouver, Canada \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s efforts to unite Canadians around protecting the nation\u2019s economy from the US are hitting roadblocks as he nears one year in power.<\/p>\n Indigenous peoples across Canada are increasingly divided over Carney\u2019s aggressive push to expand resource extraction and projects on their ancestral lands.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Some experts question how his government can advance its agenda while respecting Indigenous rights enshrined in the country\u2019s constitution.<\/p>\n March 14 will mark one year since Carney, former head of Canada\u2019s central bank, was sworn into office.<\/p>\n After an election last year, his centrist Liberal party formed a minority government with the highest share of the popular vote in 40 years.<\/p>\n A key to Carney\u2019s victory was his pledge to \u201cstand strong\u201d against US trade threats and grow Canada\u2019s economic sovereignty, an assertive approach the prime minister has called \u201celbows up\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the face of global trade shifts \u2026 we will build big and build fast to create a stronger, more sustainable, more independent economy,\u201d Carney said in a statement on March 6.<\/p>\n Part of that push was to create a Major Projects Office to speed up approvals of economic developments, starting by fast-tracking 10 mega-projects.<\/p>\n They include two massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and an open-pit mine in British Columbia, a nuclear plant in Ontario, a Quebec shipping terminal, and wind power in Atlantic Canada.<\/p>\n Those developments are worth 116 billion Canadian dollars ($85bn), the government estimates.<\/p>\n Carney\u2019s approach to the US trade war has gained support from Canadians, according to recent opinion surveys.<\/p>\n A March 3 poll of 1,500 citizens by Abacus Data found that 50 percent say Carney is protecting Canada\u2019s core interests when dealing with Trump \u2014 compared with 36 percent with negative views.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever Canada is threatened, the protectionist nature of the state kind of re-emerges,\u201d said Shady Hafez, assistant politics professor at Toronto Metropolitan University.<\/p>\n \u201cSelf-preservation of Canada becomes the priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Hafez, a research associate with the Yellowhead Institute, is a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation in Quebec.<\/p>\n He said there are growing concerns in his community and others about Carney\u2019s push to accelerate mega-projects across the country.<\/p>\n \u201cFor that to happen, Canada needs land, and it needs resources,\u201d Hafez said, \u201cand it takes those lands and resources from us.\u201d<\/p>\n Blowback was swift after Carney pledged to build a highly controversial oil pipeline to the west coast in a late November deal signed with Alberta, Canada\u2019s oil powerhouse.<\/p>\n Carney\u2019s culture minister swiftly resigned, decrying \u201cno consultation\u201d with Indigenous nations and \u201cmajor environmental impacts\u201d.<\/p>\n And the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), which represents more than 600 Indigenous chiefs, unanimously passed an emergency resolution opposing a new pipeline.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst Nations people, we stand with Canada against Trump\u2019s illegal tariffs, but not at the expense of our rights,\u201d AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told Al Jazeera in an interview. \u201cIf you want to fast-track anything, you better make sure that First Nations are being included right off the bat.<\/p>\n \u201cTrying to sideswipe or push aside First Nations people when there\u2019s agreements between provinces and the feds \u2014 they have to remember that First Nations are here \u2026 and they are to be respected in their own homelands.\u201d<\/p>\n The rights of Indigenous people in the country are enshrined in Canada\u2019s constitution.<\/p>\n But too often, Hafez said, in the name of national prosperity, \u201cIndigenous communities have to suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever there\u2019s somewhat of an emergency, our rights get pushed to the side.\u201d<\/p>\n But the resistance to the major projects push isn\u2019t universal.<\/p>\n The First Nations Natural Gas Alliance praised Carney\u2019s \u201cmuch more aggressive\u201d approach compared with his predecessor on developing energy resources.<\/p>\n But the group\u2019s CEO, Karen Ogen, acknowledged there\u2019s a \u201chighly charged environment\u201d on such issues.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst Nations communities continue to face significant socioeconomic barriers\u201d, stated the former chief of Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en First Nation. \u201cLNG and natural gas development are not just an opportunity; they are a national imperative.<\/p>\n \u201cBillions of dollars in procurement benefits and revenues are flowing to First Nations.\u201d<\/p>\n The trade war with the US has galvanised and united many Canadians \u2014 but with little acknowledgement of the impacts on Indigenous communities, said Sheryl Lightfoot, political science professor at the University of Toronto.<\/p>\n Lightfoot is vice-chair of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.<\/p>\n \u201cThese projects, by many accounts, are advancing without full consultation or transparency\u201d, she told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cIt appears that economic or geopolitical pressures \u2026 are being used to justify bypassing Indigenous rights and environmental safeguards.\u201d<\/p>\n But Canada\u2019s Major Projects Office insists it will \u201cseek input, hear concerns and ideas, and work in partnership moving forward\u201d with Indigenous communities \u2014 and \u201cwill not be skipping over vital project steps including consultations with Indigenous Peoples,\u201d an agency spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are unlocking Canada\u2019s economic potential, while respecting our environmental responsibilities and the rights of Indigenous Peoples,\u201d<\/p>\n A significant number of projects on Carney\u2019s fast-track list are concentrated in British Columbia (BC).<\/p>\n Those include two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals on the Pacific coast \u2014 LNG Canada and Ksi Lisims LNG \u2014 as well as the electric transmission line to power the sector, and a copper and gold mine.<\/p>\n BC is unique in the country because, historically, very little of its land was subject to treaties between the Crown and First Nations. Canada\u2019s top court has repeatedly ruled in favour of First Nations rights and title in the westernmost province.<\/p>\n All four major projects in the province have proven divisive among the region\u2019s Indigenous peoples \u2014 even though several have the backing of individual First Nations governments.<\/p>\n One of those is the massive Ksi Lisims LNG plant, in which the Nisga\u2019a Nation is a direct partner.<\/p>\n Co-developed with Texas-based Western LNG, the mega-project will \u201cbenefit all Canadians,\u201d said Nisga\u2019a President Eva Clayton.<\/p>\n In 2000, her nation became the first in BC to reach a modern self-government treaty.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are co-developing the Ksi Lisims LNG project on land that our nation owns under our treaty,\u201d she told a parliamentary committee on February 24.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project is expected to bring in 30 billion [Canadian] dollars [$22bn] in investment, create thousands of skilled careers, and strengthen Canada\u2019s leadership in low-emission LNG.\u201d<\/p>\n But LNG is fiercely opposed by other nearby First Nations.<\/p>\n Tara Marsden is Wilp sustainability director for the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs, traditional leaders of the 900-member Gitanyow community.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a lot more concerns and evidence regarding impacts in our territory,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe federal government has done zero consultation on their fast-track list and the projects that actually affect our territory.\u201d<\/p>\n Gitanyow oppose the BC projects on the fast-track list as harming their interests.<\/p>\n She said Ottawa cannot ignore First Nations opposition, even if there is support from others like the Nisga\u2019a.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have a right to develop in their own territories\u201d, said Marsden. \u201cBut if you have maybe 20 to 30 First Nations whose territory would be crossed \u2014 and you get maybe three on board \u2014 that\u2019s not a resounding consensus.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re just trying to use this small handful of nations to steamroll over everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n If Canada truly wants to strengthen its sovereignty and economy, she said, it must do so alongside Indigenous people.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is something that First Nations across the country have been saying since Carney took the \u2018elbows up\u2019 approach,\u201d Marsden said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government has really just ignored that \u2026 and actually now back-stopping these mega-projects with taxpayer dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n McGill University economics lecturer Julian Karaguesian served for decades in the Department of Finance and Canada\u2019s Embassy in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n He agreed that most Canadians support Carney\u2019s attempt to boost the economy with \u201cnation-building\u201d projects.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019re a fantastic idea\u201d, he told Al Jazeera. \u201cBut we\u2019ve committed to consultations with First Nations, Metis and Inuit people.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce we\u2019ve started compromising on economic and social justice \u2026 we can create bitterness. First Nations leaders understand the situation we\u2019re in, and I think [Ottawa] can work with them.\u201d<\/p>\n Even on projects endorsed by some First Nations, the international legal principle of \u201cfree, prior and informed consent\u201d must still apply to other communities impacted, said Lightfoot.<\/p>\n That\u2019s \u201cnot simply a procedural requirement\u201d to rubber-stamp projects, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a substantive right, anchored in Indigenous peoples\u2019 self-determination and their ability to make decisions about matters that affect their lands, communities, and futures.\u201d<\/p>\n And that could risk slowing down Carney\u2019s hopes to speed through projects if there is no Indigenous consensus \u2014 potentially tying more divisive ones up in the courts.<\/p>\n \u201cFailure to include Indigenous knowledge and decision-making early in the process,\u201d Lightfoot said, \u201ccan undermine the legitimacy and fairness of project approvals.\u201d<\/p>\n Carney\u2019s ratings among First Nations are \u201cmixed,\u201d says AFN\u2019s national chief. One positive, she noted, is his openness to meeting Indigenous leaders raising concerns.<\/p>\n But with many of the prime minister\u2019s economic hopes dependent on building \u201cnational interest\u201d infrastructure on First Nations homelands, Woodhouse Nepinak said the relationship needs care.<\/p>\n \u201cCarney is at a crossroads in his personal relationship with First Nations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we understand First Nations rights are under threat in new ways by this government.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Vancouver, Canada \u2013\u00a0Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s efforts to unite Canadians around protecting the nation\u2019s economy from the US are hitting roadblocks as he nears one year in power. Indigenous peoples across Canada are increasingly divided over Carney\u2019s aggressive push to expand resource extraction and projects on their ancestral lands. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
\u2018Our rights get pushed to the side\u2019<\/h2>\n
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\u2018Elbows up\u2019 meets opposition<\/h2>\n
Free, prior and informed consent<\/h2>\n
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