STOP THE TAR SANDS, SAVE THE PLANET!

RAVEN’s values are embodied in our program to support the Beaver Lake Cree Nation’s fight against the Alberta tar sands developments. RAVEN is among those who view the massive destruction of the landscape as an environmental crime. It is also illegal and unconstitutional because the climate-destroying oil sands are in violation of the treaty that guarantees the Beaver Lake Cree people to the right to hunt and fish on their traditional territories for all time.

Former Chief Al Lameman, Beaver Lake Cree First Nation ~ "I look at what is happening to our traditional hunting lands, and I lie awake at night. I worry that this is not just the end of our way of life, but the end of all of our lives."

Initiated by former Chief Al Lameman, and now carried on by Chief Henry Gladue, this band is doing something few would dare to try, but many believe needs doing. They are suing the federal and Alberta governments for the health of the planet, to preserve the integrity of the boreal forest and the habitat that has sustained their people for generations, and to ensure the future happiness and freedom of their children and all our children in a world that has controlled greenhouse gas emissions. They have drawn a line in the "tar sand" against the rapid, unmitigated expansion of the Alberta oil sands industries.

Check out this five-minute video, produced as part of the Cooperative's Toxic Fuels Campaign, which explains more about the tar sands and the Beaver Lake Cree Nation's legal action.

---

CURRENT SITUATION:  The Beaver Lake Cree Nation has won a major battle in its attempt to halt the expansion of the tar sands developments in Alberta.  Alberta Court of Queen's Bench has given a green light to a comprehensive constitutional challenge to the tar sands developments.

The case will now go to trial following a judgment issued on March 27, 2012 by Madame Justice B. A. Browne rejecting Alberta and Canada’s efforts to have the case dismissed.

In a historic precedent-making decision the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench has upheld the right of the Treaty First Nations of Alberta to challenge widespread industrial activity including tar sands exploration and extraction, based on the cumulative effects these activities may have on constitutionally protected treaty rights. 

Chief Henry Gladue applauds the ruling, and says: "The treaty is a sacred document for my people and we are very happy that the courts are prepared to back us up when the treaty rights are being abused."

The Court also said that “consultation does not mean "listening" and then "doing as one pleases” and it may have to assume an ongoing supervisory role in order to “ensure the duty to consult is honoured and Treaty Rights are respected."

This is the first time the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench has approved large scale litigation seeking to curtail industry activity based on treaty rights.  Also of note, the court left open the possibility of injunctions against the Crown if they fail to curtail harmful activity on treaty lands.

If the Beaver Lake Cree win the legal challenge it would have huge implications for tar sands expansion, with almost 50% of expansion plans within Beaver Lake Cree traditional territories. BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and Statoil all have tar sands interests and expansion plans within these territories.

RAVEN would like to thank all the generous donors who helped to raise the funds that allowed lawyer David Rosenberg Q.C. to present the winning argument (for drastically reduced fees).  Also, the argument was written pro bono by members of the Tooks Chambers law firm in the UK and the Woodward and Company LLP team in Victoria, BC.  

Now the big work begins!!  Please consider contributing today to this important effort! 

---

WHY SUPPORT BLCN'S FIGHT AGAINST TOXIC FUELS?  This is really the only action in play at the moment that can do something concrete - because it's based on the band's constitutionally guaranteed right to hunt and trap on their ancestral lands in perpetuity. This gutsy little band of 900 is going for a Supreme Court declaration that the cumulative impact of the tar sands infringes on their treaty rights - and that would make the 17,000+ permits issued to big oil illegal - and worthless. Jack Woodward of Woodward & Company LLP explains how this lawsuit will work to stop the expansion of the tar sands industry.

The law is clearly on the side of First Nations - the greatest barrier to justice for the Beaver Lake Cree is the high cost of the legal system. For First Nations in Canada, to protect their traditional land and way of life, and act as stewards for the planet, they must take the issue to court.  That's because in Canada our strongest environmental laws are the constitutionally guaranteed treaty rights of First Nations.  But to get to court - that's the problem!  Native leaders and their legal teams face overwhelming David vs. Goliath-style battles.  They must face off against the established interests and deep pockets of large corporations and the governments that support them. And as you might imagine Canada and Alberta do not want to lose this case, so they are putting up a serious fight. 

RAVEN has intervened to attempt to bring some fairness to this situation.  We provide resources needed so that native leaders have access to the necessary research, preparation and legal support.  Without this, native causes are bound to fail in non-native legal systems simply for lack of funds.  RAVEN's mission is to redress this inherent imbalance and to obtain justice in the courts for First Nations struggling to protect rights and lands, and to ultimately protect the planet we all live on. 

YOU play a crucial role in the outcome of this effort.  Because of people like you, the Beaver Lake Cree have made it through Phase One - the pre-trial motion to strike.  The Beaver Lake Cree successfully cleared this hurdle in order to get to an actual trial.  Now the work of gathering evidence, scientific reports and writing arguments begins.

Please join the effort and donate today.

---

SAVE THE CARIBOU, STOP THE TAR SANDS

In addition to our main Beaver Lake Cree Nation program, RAVEN successfully raised the funds to allow three First Nations to launch a judicial review to force Canada to act on its obligation to protect threatened species - in this case, woodland caribou.  The time is now to Save the Caribou and Stop the Tar Sands!

One of RAVEN's achievements in 2010 was raising the funds to cover the costs of launching a judicial review at the Federal Court in Edmonton, Alberta on behalf of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Beaver Lake Cree First Nation and Enoch Cree First Nation on September 8, 2010.  The legal action is an effort to save the dwindling caribou herds in northeastern Alberta. The animals are being threatened by industrial development, including the expansion of the tar sands industries. The argument is that the federal minister of the environment has a statutory duty to protect the animals under the Species at Risk Act (SARA.)

Preserving animal habitat and First Nation land base is really the only way to have an impact on the rapidly expanding tar sands and other devastating industrial developments.

WHERE IT'S AT WITH THIS STRATEGY:
The Minister still says 'no' to issuing an Emergency Order to protect the caribou. (An Emergency Order would allow the federal government to step in and act in Alberta, superceding provincial jurisdiction.) 

So the First Nations and environmental groups issued their reply on February 8th to the federal Environment Minister’s failure to explain his decision not to recommend an Emergency Order to protect Woodland Caribou in northeastern Alberta.

The story is this:  On July 28, 2011 Mr. Justice Crampton ordered the Minister to reconsider his refusal to issue an Emergency Order, and this time to take into account treaty rights and the honour of the Crown, and to provide a meaningful explanation, including the evidentiary basis, of his reconsideration.

In the July 2011 judgment, the Court wrote: “… the Minister clearly erred in reaching his decision by failing to take into account the First Nations Applicants’ Treaty Rights and the honour of the Crown in interpreting his mandate under [the federal Species at Risk Act]. . . it is not immediately apparent how, given the foregoing facts, the Minister reasonably could have concluded that there are no imminent threats to the national recovery of boreal caribou.” The Court set aside the Minister’s decision because he failed to adequately explain it.

Almost six months later, the Minister had not publicly issued a reconsideration decision. On January 24, 2012 a motion was filed on behalf of BLCN, ACFN and environmental groups asking the court to impose a very short deadline for the Minister to issue his decision. After the motion was filed, Canada advised that the Minister had in fact reconsidered, and had decided once again not to recommend an emergency order. Canada provided a short summary of the Minister’s decision on February 1.

“We take the position that the Minister has not produced a decision in accordance with the direction of the court, therefore a deadline for compliance with the July order is still required,” explained Jack Woodward. “Mr. Justice Crampton’s decision was clear: the Minister was to provide meaningful reasons that would allow the Court and the Applicants to assess the reasonableness of his decision, and to understand how he could reach a conclusion not to issue an Emergency Order in the face of evidence to the contrary. In particular, the Minister was directed to consider whether his actions and inaction upheld the honour of the Crown and the First Nations Applicant’s treaty rights. In our view, the summary provided by the Minister does not comply with the Court’s direction.”

The two bands and environmental groups now await a decision from the Court.