John Malcolm wins a battle, not a war
Editorial appeared in Fort McMurray Today Nov. 10, 2006
It's been a long, hard fight for John Malcolm.
The man who calls himself chief of Wood Buffalo First Nation has met with roadblocks at every opportunity.
A stop sign has blocked him at every turn on the road to official recognition for him and his supporters. Official recogition could be leveraged into land and funding for his cause.
As a result, Malcom has appeared at regulatory hearings for new oilsands plants over the years: Pan-Canadian Petroleum in 1999, Canadian Natural Resources in 2003, and recent hearings for Suncor Energy and Imperial Oil's Kearl project.
Until now, Malcolm and the his group that calls itself Wood Buffalo First Nation have been rebuffed. They've received no funding to pay for consultants and lawyers, like some other groups. While he's been permitted to talk at hearings in the past, it seems the final rulings by the regulatory agencies have not taken his arguments into account.
Part of this story goes back more than 100 years, when federal agents were fanning out over Alberta to sign treaties with the Indian bands that existed at the time. Many were missed.
In this region, the five first nations that are now joined together as the Athabasca Tribal Council were signatories. They are now negotiating, or have arrived at agreements, with oilsands plants and at least some members are reaping some rewards as a result.
The story is unclear from here: the federal government has broken many promises over the intervening century. Even the definition of who is entitled to assistance and who is not is still debated, despite many court rulings.
Does Malcolm qualify? Are his claims legitimate?
He will likely cite this editorial to help prop up his argument: his success has been that elusive. That would be wrong.
The entire issue in Alberta and across Canada has been mishandled. With a minority government in Ottawa that seeks to tear down progress made by the Liberals, don't expect any progress soon.
In the meantime, Malcolm's victory in signing agreements with Imperial Oil is one step.
Will there be more success for the unaffiliated aboriginals in Wood Buffalo?
There is still no answer to that question.
Don't expect John Malcom to stop trying, however.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
It's been a long, hard fight for John Malcolm.
The man who calls himself chief of Wood Buffalo First Nation has met with roadblocks at every opportunity.
A stop sign has blocked him at every turn on the road to official recognition for him and his supporters. Official recogition could be leveraged into land and funding for his cause.
As a result, Malcom has appeared at regulatory hearings for new oilsands plants over the years: Pan-Canadian Petroleum in 1999, Canadian Natural Resources in 2003, and recent hearings for Suncor Energy and Imperial Oil's Kearl project.
Until now, Malcolm and the his group that calls itself Wood Buffalo First Nation have been rebuffed. They've received no funding to pay for consultants and lawyers, like some other groups. While he's been permitted to talk at hearings in the past, it seems the final rulings by the regulatory agencies have not taken his arguments into account.
Part of this story goes back more than 100 years, when federal agents were fanning out over Alberta to sign treaties with the Indian bands that existed at the time. Many were missed.
In this region, the five first nations that are now joined together as the Athabasca Tribal Council were signatories. They are now negotiating, or have arrived at agreements, with oilsands plants and at least some members are reaping some rewards as a result.
The story is unclear from here: the federal government has broken many promises over the intervening century. Even the definition of who is entitled to assistance and who is not is still debated, despite many court rulings.
Does Malcolm qualify? Are his claims legitimate?
He will likely cite this editorial to help prop up his argument: his success has been that elusive. That would be wrong.
The entire issue in Alberta and across Canada has been mishandled. With a minority government in Ottawa that seeks to tear down progress made by the Liberals, don't expect any progress soon.
In the meantime, Malcolm's victory in signing agreements with Imperial Oil is one step.
Will there be more success for the unaffiliated aboriginals in Wood Buffalo?
There is still no answer to that question.
Don't expect John Malcom to stop trying, however.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
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