-Court rules against feds on waterway protection

A Federal Court justice has ruled the Conservative government failed to properly consult with an Alberta Cree Nation before passing a controversial 2012 omnibus bill that eliminated federal environmental protection over almost all of Canada’s lakes and rivers.

Justice Roger Hughes ruled that the Harper government should have consulted with the Mikisew Cree over the legislation’s impact on the band’s hunting and trapping rights.

The bill amended the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act and the Navigable Waters Protection Act, leaving only 97 protected lakes and rivers across the country.

Environmental lawyer Jessica Clogg said the Hughes decision clarifies and underlines the need of government to consult with First Nations when passing legislation that impacts them and their traditional territory.

She says the legislation was designed to encourage development and that First Nations have responded with resistance. 

“The massive legislation was passed to pave the way for tar sands developments,” said Clogg. “And many Nations have been asserting their laws and rights in face of that federal attack.”

Chief Steve Curtoreille says that the decision is a victory for all Canadians because it will force the government to be more accountable when crafting legislation.   

He told the Edmonton Journal the omnibus bill is null and void and that the Mikisew Cree will require federal monitoring on any future projects affecting their waterways.

“We do not recognize the new legislation. How can we recognize what we haven’t been consulted on?” he asked. “(The federal government) will have to find a way to navigate that. We will protect our interest. We will protect our environment.”

Nonetheless, the Hughes decision is only a declaration, as the justice opted not to implement an injunction against the law, saying the scope would be impossible to define.