Public policy discourse needs to move away from where Indigenous issues are paramount to where they’re one set among many
Indigenous people too often seem to think that their rights are absolute or act as if their rights trump everything else. This attitude was seen clearly in a reaction from the Saskatchewan-based Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) after the Saskatchewan government changed the policy regarding when people can hunt on summer pasture lands. All…
A path that includes meaningful consultation with Indigenous groups is destined to move development forward
There are two visions of engaging with First Nations on mining projects in Manitoba. The first will likely lead to considerable opposition and increased delays. The second focuses on meaningful consultation with Indigenous groups and is destined to move development forward. One can only hope that policy-makers adopt the latter vision and reject the former.…
The end of Canada's federal marketing monopoly opens new doors around the world
Many people expected that the end of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp. (FFMC) monopoly would lead to a disaster in Manitoba. It has not, fortunately. In fact, this move by the federal government may revitalize the Indigenous commercial fisheries in the northern part of the province. Manitoba commercial fishers sell about $60 million worth of…
They’re only preventing oil and gas products from getting to economies that need them the most
The last few years have not been good for pipeline projects in Canada. The Keystone XL pipeline continues to be plagued by delays, TransCanada made big news by axing the Energy East pipeline and Kinder Morgan has cut spending on the critical Trans Mountain expansion project to protect its shareholders. After each pipeline setback, oil…
Across Canada, misguided populism is creating bad public policy, preventing the spreading of economic benefits to all citizens
Misguided moratoriums on hydraulic fracturing deny have-not provinces much-needed jobs and revenue, and deny citizens opportunities to relieve too-heavy tax burdens. British Columbia is the latest victim of the frenzy against fracking, a technique used to extract oil and gas from rock formations that has been safely used in Western Canada for more than 60…
First Nations support pipelines, including Trans Mountain. Abandoning the project will be a severe blow to those communities
By Joseph Quesnel and Kenneth Green The Fraser Institute Alberta Premier Rachel Notley forgot one group of Canadians when she cheered a recent court ruling relating to the $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. “It wasn’t that we won the decision, it was the court wouldn’t even hear it. So, it was a pretty definitive…
The ban on hydraulic fracturing defies science that says the practice is safe. And it means turning away from billions in profits
Nova Scotia's wrong-headed ban on fracking denies the province a golden economic opportunity. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is used to extract oil and gas from deep underground rock formations. Fluid is injected into formations with enough pressure to fracture the oil-and-gas-bearing rock. The Nova Scotia Energy Department has been told that the province sits on…
Chief Reginald Bellerose of Muskowekwan encourages First Nations to find the correct balance between politics and business
To Chief Reginald Bellerose of Muskowekwan First Nation in southern Saskatchewan, the wave of the future belongs to Indigenous entrepreneurship. “Our entrepreneurial spirit has been dormant. We must re-ignite that spirit,” said Bellerose, the 13-year chief of the small Anishinaabe community on Treaty 4 territory. For the 49-year-old, the key is changing laws to unleash…
Solving this seemingly intractable problem should be quite simple, but simply increasing funding will only make the problems worse
Pondering the crisis so many First Nations communities face over water quality, you can’t help but think of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: “Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” The ironic dilemma of the mariner is obvious in more than 90 per cent of Canada’s First Nations communities. Most…
When we consider the source of electricity, the invasive nature of copper mining for batteries and components, and other factors, the jury is out
In the push to normalize electric vehicles, many forget it’s not the end of the road as far as environmental impact is concerned. Presumably, those using electric vehicles or hybrids are motivated by a desire to improve the environment, especially by reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Many owners of these vehicles derive satisfaction and…
Indigenous people too often seem to think that their rights are absolute or act as if their rights trump everything else. This attitude was seen clearly in a reaction from the Saskatchewan-based Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) after the Saskatchewan government changed the policy regarding when people can hunt on summer pasture lands. All…
