“We are not asking for amendments to these laws. We are actually asking that the Saskatchewan first and the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act be withdrawn.”
This was the message from RoseAnne Archibald, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, together with the Confederation of Treaty Six First Nations and the G4 in Treaty 7 territory at a news conference on Wednesday morning.
Archibald said the two bills — Bill 1 in Alberta and Bill 88 in Saskatchewan — are a violation of their rights and “we will not stand by (and) not allow that to happen.”
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Convention 6, 7 and the AFN presented the emergency resolution at the Special General Assembly in Ottawa.
In Alberta, under the current bill, the cabinet would have wide latitude to respond to any federal legislative policy or program it deems harmful to Alberta’s interests. While the law in Saskatchewan would allow the government to have independence over its natural resources.
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“The Saskatchewan First Act will clarify and defend Saskatchewan’s constitutional right to control our natural resources and our economic future,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said on Nov. 1.
Concerns by treaty chiefs were raised after the group said there had been no consultation with First Nations regarding the actions and that it was another blow to the way forward with Truth and Reconciliation.
“We are asking a government to really sit down with us and have discussions. Let’s talk together to move forward,” said Aly Bear, deputy chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations.
“You know, there’s all this talk about reconciliation, but there’s no real implementation of it either.”
More to come…
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