The Alberta legislature has passed the controversial sovereignty act which the NDP opposition says could impact indigenous rights.
Indigenous Relations Critic Richard Feehan says first nations weren’t even consulted before the bill was introduced.
“The first violation is the treaty right to consultation. They’re concerned that this is just an example of moving forward in everything that’s going to happen in the future, they’re very concerned about the earth, the air and they’re very concerned about the water. If this bill is used to undermine their concerns and the right to protect their land, they’re going to be very upset about it.”
Chiefs from Treaty 8 have spoke out against the act, saying it doesn’t honour the original intent of the treaties.
Feehan says he’s heard concerns from chiefs about how this could impact resource development.
“The concern here from the First Nations is that as they move forward and they work to develop resources that they want to be at the table for these decisions so that they can balance the things that are important to them. That is the creation of jobs with the protection of the environment. The government has made it very clear, they don’t have a seat at the table.”
Our full interview with Feehan can be found below.
– Kyle Moore, Trending 55 Newsroom
