• All 15 New Brunswick First Nations come together over consultation concerns with Higgs government

    ALL FIFTEEN NEW BRUNSWICK FIRST NATIONS COME TOGETHER OVER CONSULTATION CONCERNS WITH HIGGS GOVERNMENT

    FREDERICTON – The Mi’gmaq and Wolastoqey Chiefs of all fifteen communities in New Brunswick have come together over their concerns with consultation under the Higgs government.

    “We officially put the Province of New Brunswick on notice that we will continue our efforts to protect the lands, water and resources of New Brunswick. This is our responsibility, and it is in the interest of all New Brunswickers,” said Fort Folly Chief Rebecca Knockwood.

    
The Mi’gmaq and Wolastoqey Nations both learned through media reports that in early May Premier Higgs and the Province of New Brunswick quietly passed an Order in Council exempting an area near Sussex from the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing without any consultation with, or notification to, the Nations.

    
“As signatories to the Peace and Friendship Treaties, the Mi’gmaq and Wolastoqey never gave up legal rights to our lands, waters or resources. Despite this, in the past century, our lands, waters and resources have been increasingly exploited to the point that they are in serious danger. We will not sit by and allow our Aboriginal and Treaty rights, including Aboriginal title, to be infringed on by the Crown and Industry” said Tobique Chief Ross Perley.

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 The 2018 Throne Speech of the Higgs government committed to addressing unkept promises to First Nations and to defining a new relationship with First Nations that would include more control over lands and resources. The decision to secretly exempt the Sussex area from the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing without any Indigenous consultation does the very opposite and perpetuates the status quo in the New Brunswick government’s relationship with Indigenous peoples.

    
“We came together to tell government they cannot cause division among our Nations and communities. We want to make sure the Premier never has to question who he needs to consult if he plans to frack in this province,” said Elsipogtog Chief Arron Sock.

    The Mi’gmaq and Wolastoqey are committed to taking a strong and unified stand in protecting and taking back what is rightfully theirs and ensuring the Crown meets its consultation obligations.

    Media contacts:

    Jennifer Coleman, Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn, 506-292-1241 or at jennifer@migmawel.org

    Kenneth Francis, Kopit Lodge, 506-523-5823 or at imw.legalfund@gmail.com

    Gillian Paul, Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick, 506-461-1187 or at gillian.paul@wolastoqey.ca

  • Cour doit poursuivre des audiences dans l’affaire du parc provincial Mont Carleton cette semaine

    POUR DIFFUSION IMMÉDIATE                                                                                                 Le 12 juin 2017

    Cour doit poursuivre des audiences dans l’affaire  du parc provincial Mont Carleton cette semaine

    Renseignements obtenus de l’APECA déséquilibre les déclarations du gouvernement

    Selon la Cour suprême du Canada, le gouvernement doit agir «avec honneur et intégrité, et éviter la moindre apparence de ‘manœuvres malhonnêtes’» dans ses rapports avec les peuples autochtones.

    «Pourtant, ce n’est pas comme ça que le gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick agit», affirme le Grand Chef Ron Tremblay, un des auteurs de la demande de révision judiciaire dans l’affaire de la décision prise par le gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick d’aménager un centre de services pour motoneiges au parc provincial Mont Carleton.

    Au moment où ce projet a été annoncé, on y mentionnait des dameuses, un sentier désigné menant au sommet du mont Carleton et deux nouveaux ponts pour motoneiges.

    «Les deux nouveaux ponts pour motoneiges sont les pièces maîtresses de ce projet; c’est ce qui fait le lien avec le reste du projet», affirme Jean Louis Deveau, l’autre demandeur de révision judiciaire.

    Une demande d’Étude d’impact sur l’environnement (ÉIE) pour ce projet a été déposée en septembre 2016. A l’époque le gouvernement a soutenu que les ponts n’étaient pas considérés comme faisant partie du projet.

    Cependant, des renseignements obtenus récemment de l’Agence de promotion économique du Canada atlantique (APÉCA) en vertu de la Loi sur le droit à l’information et la protection des renseignements personnels indiquent que la demande de financement faite à l’APÉCA par la partie requérante incluait des fonds pour construire les deux ponts qui sont au centre de la controverse. Et il est de fait que le financement pour les ponts figure dans le contrat conclu entre les requérants et l’APÉCA.

    Le Grand Chef Tremblay conclut qu’ «à la lumière de ces nouveaux renseignements, c’est évident que le gouvernement n’agit pas avec honneur et intégrité».

    La cour doit poursuivre les audiences dans cette affaire le 13 juin à Woodstock. Une campagne de financement participatif (https://www.gofundme.com/27ru624) a été entreprise en juin 2016 pour aider à payer les frais juridiques.

    La Loi sur les parcs (2014) stipule qu’avant que l’on puisse procéder à tout développement dans un parc provincial, celui-ci doit être doté d’un plan de gestion basé sur un plan de zonage. Or pour le parc Mont Carleton, il existe un plan de zonage mais pas de plan de gestion.

  • Le Grand conseil malécite obtient un ajournement

    POUR DIFFUSION IMMÉDIATE                                                                                          Le 15 juin 2017


    Le Grand conseil malécite obtient un ajournement


    Le Grand conseil malécite a obtenu un ajournement des audiences, cette semaine, en cour, dans sa tentative d’empêcher le gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick d’implanter un centre de services pour motoneiges  au parc provincial Mont-Carleton, un lieu sacré pour les Malécites.

    «La première chose que notre avocat, Gordon Allen, a faite, ça été de demander un ajournement des audiences prévues pour l’avant-midi pour nous allouer plus de temps pour une audition complète du cas.  On avait aussi besoin d’un ajournement pour apporter des modifications à notre demande initiale», a dit le Grand Chef Ron Tremblay, qui se trouvait au palais de justice de Woodstock mardi de cette semaine.

    «Ces modifications vont expliquer comment le centre proposé pour l’entretien de motoneiges va affecter le lien spirituel que notre peuple a avec cet endroit et le rapport avec les promesses qui nous ont été faites dans le Traité de 1725-26», précise Tremblay.

    L’avocat de la province s’est opposé à l’ajournement demandé, mais le juge Richard Petrie a accepté la demande après avoir entendu les arguments de Me Allen. Il a aussi fixé des échéances pour certaines tâches dont les deux parties doivent s’acquitter pour s’assurer que l’audience se déroule plus rondement et efficacement.

    Dans les 60 prochains jours, les parties devront mettre la touche finale aux modifications et régler certains problèmes quant à la preuve qui sera présentée en cour.  Aussi, une conférence préparatoire à l’audience aura lieu pour fixer une nouvelle date pour l’audition complète et tous les points importants qui s’y rattachent.

    Une campagne de sociofinancement pour appuyer la révision judiciaire a permis, jusqu’à maintenant, d’amasser plus de 20 000 $ provenant de 145 donateurs.

  • Maliseet Grand Council wins an adjournment

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                           June 15, 2017

    Maliseet Grand Council wins an adjournment

    The Maliseet Grand Council obtained an adjournment (postponement of proceedings) in Court earlier this week in its efforts to stop the Province from developing a snowmobile grooming hub at Mount Carleton Provincial Park, an area sacred to the Maliseet. 

    “The first matter presented by our lawyer Gordon Allen was to adjourn the proceedings scheduled for the morning to give us for more time for a full hearing of the matter. We also needed an adjournment to amend our original application,” said Grand Chief Ron Tremblay, who was at the Woodstock courthouse on Tuesday. 

    “The amendments will define how the proposed snowmobile grooming hub would affect the spiritual connection our People have with this place and how that relates to the Promises that were made to us in the Treaty of 1725/26,” adds Tremblay.

    The Province’s counsel opposed the proposed adjournment, but after hearing Allen, Judge Richard Petrie considered the submissions and agreed to the request. He also issued timelines for both parties to complete certain tasks so that the matter may proceed before the Court in a more efficient fashion.

    Within the next 60 days, the parties will finalize amendments and deal with issues regarding evidence before the Court. A pre-hearing conference will also be scheduled to set a new date for the full hearing and all the important issues it raises.

    A gofundme campaign has so far raised over $20,000 from 145 people in support of this judicial review.

    -30-

  • Mount Carleton court case to resume this week

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                  June 12, 2017

    Mount Carleton court case to resume this week

    Right to information request from ACOA discredits government statements

    In dealing with Aboriginal Peoples, the government must act with “honour and integrity, avoiding even the appearance of sharp dealing,” says the Supreme Court of Canada.  

    But, that is not how the New Brunswick government is acting, says Grand Chief Ron Tremblay, one of the applicants seeking a judicial review of a decision made by the New Brunswick government to develop a snowmobile grooming hub at Mount Carleton Provincial Park. 

    “We’re being told one thing, only to find out through Right to
    Information that the opposite is true. The government
    is clearly not acting with honour and integrity.” 

    - Wolastoq Grand Chief Tremblay


    When first announced, the project consisted of groomers, a designated trail up the side of Mount Carleton, and two new snowmobile bridges.

    “The two new snowmobile bridges are the most essential elements of this project as they tie everything else together,” says Jean Louis Deveau, the other applicant in the judicial review.

    The project was registered for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in September 2016. At the time government argued the bridges weren’t being considered part of the project.

    Yet information recently obtained from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency through the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act indicates that the proposal submitted by the applicants for funding from to ACOA included a request for money to build the two bridges at the centre of this controversy. And in the contract made between the applicants and ACOA, bridge funding is included. 

    “We’re being told one thing, only to find out through Right to Information that the opposite is true. The government is clearly not acting with honour and integrity,” says Grand Chief Tremblay.

    The court is scheduled to continue hearing this matter on June 13th in Woodstock. A crowdfunding campaign (https://www.gofundme.com/27ru624) was started in June 2016 to help pay legal fees.

    The Parks Act (2014) stipulates a management plan based on a zoning system must be completed prior to any development in Provincial Parks. Mt. Carleton has been zoned but doesn’t have a management plan.

  • Peace and Friendship Alliance Demands Gallant Suspend Forestry Contracts and Consult With Indigenous Peoples

    PEACE & FRIENDSHIP ALLIANCE DEMANDS GALLANT SUSPEND
    FORESTRY     CONTRACTS AND CONSULT WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE             PRESS RELEASE              23 MARCH 2015


    Fredericton NB - Members of the Peace & Friendship Alliance are alarmed at the Gallant government’s decision to honour forestry contracts that were signed without meaningful consultation.  

    The Alliance includes non-governmental groups and Indigenous Peoples from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine, in collaboration with a national and international coalition, who are all concerned about mounting assaults on our land, water, and air by governments and industry.

    “The lands tied to those contracts are the stolen ancestral territory of our people,” says Ron Tremblay, spokesperson for Wolastoq Grand Council


    “The lands tied to those contracts are the stolen ancestral territory of our people,” says Ron Tremblay, spokesperson for Wolastoq Grand Council. “We see Brian Gallant’s endorsement of the contracts as abuse of due process. The contracts were signed without meaningful consultation with Indigenous People.”

    “Gallant should have announced he was going to suspend the contracts until Indigenous People were properly consulted,” adds Tremblay.

    “This is more of an incentive to take this government to court to finally recognize aboriginal title to the lands that have been given away for destruction,” says Alma Brooks, clan mother of the Wolastoq Grand Council.

    “This is more of an incentive to take this governmentto court to finally recognize aboriginal title to the landsthat have been given away for destruction,”says Alma Brooks, clan motherof the Wolastoq Grand Council

    Maggie Connell, co-chair of the Fredericton Chapter of the Council of Canadians, said “This forestry deal was done in secret without Wolastoq Peoples knowledge or ours.”

    “We want to prevent irreparable harm to Acadian forests which will not regenerate for hundreds of years,” adds Connell. “And after such severe weather this winter, our elected leaders can no longer hide from climate change. They have a duty of care to prevent widespread loss of forest cover. Many of these areas now allowed in the forestry contract are on steep slopes and wet areas that once cut, will not retain as much water after heavy rain events, thus increasing the risk of flooding in downstream communities.”

    “We want to prevent irreparable harm to Acadian forests
    which will not regenerate for hundreds of years”
    - Maggie Connell, co-chair of the Fredericton
    Chapter of the Council of Canadians



    A rally is being held outside the combined Annual General Meetings of three (3) NB Liberal Riding Associations this coming Wednesday, March 25th from 5:30pm to 7:00pm at Knights of Columbus Hall, 170 Regent Street, Fredericton to tell Brian Gallant to give us due process and suspend the forestry contracts through legislation. The public is invited to attend this family event.

    - 30 -

  • SSNB (StopSprayingNB) Petition Submission/ Présentation de la pétition SSNB

    SSNB needs your support us as we step forward to let our voices be heard. Join us at the Legislature for the submission of the SSNB petition signatories. Bring your loud voice and all the signs, noisemakers and conviction you can muster.
 © 2018 NBEN / RENB