In the wake of the massive Muskrat Falls bailout, the Innu Nation is suing the federal and Newfoundland and Labrador governments in an attempt to protect benefits the nation negotiated from being wiped out.
The $5.2-billion aid package announced last month is Canada’s answer to billions of dollars worth of cost overruns at Muskrat Falls. Through a combination of loan guarantees, investments, and Canada’s revenue stream from the Hibernia offshore oil platform, the plan is to inject cash into the province’s coffers to help it deal with its out-of-control debt. The deal is not yet final, but the province and Ottawa hope to have it fully inked by the end of September.
It’s on Innu land that the 824-megawatt Muskrat Falls hydro dam was built, and in exchange for allowing the project to go forward, the Innu Nation was expecting to receive five per cent of the project’s profits, along with other benefits as outlined in its impacts and benefits agreement (IBA) signed in 2011. But with Canada restructuring the deal to offer financial relief to Newfoundland and Labrador, the Innu Nation is concerned that what they’re owed is likely to be impacted.
“My message to the premier and the prime minister is this: The Innu people care about your actions, not your words. And right now, your actions send the message loud and clear that you do not care about the Innu, and that you think you can stab us in the back and we won’t do anything,” said Grand Chief Etienne Rich in a statement.
“Well you are wrong. We will not be brushed aside with meaningless statements of ‘commitments’ that have no substance. The Innu will fight for our rights as we have always done.”
At the core of the issue is when the IBA was signed, it was part of a suite of agreements to provide a new foundation for the nation’s future. The IBA outlined revenues it would get in exchange for consenting to Muskrat Falls, there was a redress agreement for damages caused by the Churchill Falls project built decades before, and a land claims and self-government agreement in principle.
Together, those three documents formed the Tshash Petapen (New Dawn) Agreement. It had Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Innu Nation agreeing to work towards Innu self-government, and the revenue generated from Muskrat Falls would have been used to fund programs and services.
“People were thrilled and then one of those three pillars just gets knocked out 10 years later,” says lawyer Nancy Kleer, representing the Innu Nation. “People didn't really want the (Muskrat Falls) project on their land, (but) they said, ‘Well, if it's going to go ahead, it has to go ahead on our terms,’ and those terms included the financial benefits they would obtain.”
This week, the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) found the Innu continue to face systemic discrimination to the full enjoyment of their rights, and scolded Ottawa for how it has, and continues, to treat the nation. The CHRC called on Ottawa to accelerate a modern treaty negotiation to resolve Innu land title, allow for self-government, and close socio-economic gaps. It said there needed to be a “reset of the negotiating process.”
“Only if such an action can be taken, could it be said that the federal government has started to make up for its 50-year evasion of constitutional responsibilities with respect to the Innu. Only then will Canada be able to say that it is starting to live up to its human rights obligations,” the report reads.
Kleer explains that while this issue matters to the Innu Nation, the whole country should take notice because IBAs are how developers obtain free, prior, and informed consent from First Nations.
“If those benefits can be wiped out because Canada decides for its own purposes that it needs to work out a deal with a province, or rescue a company that's in distress … why would First Nations feel comfortable entering into IBAs?” she says.
The lawsuit is already causing waves outside of the province. The Anishinabek Nation Grand Council said Wednesday it was “deeply concerned” by Ottawa’s actions.
“The government’s attempt to use a backdoor mechanism to undermine benefits promised to the Innu in an Impact and Benefits Agreement (IBA) sets a dangerous precedent that is inconsistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Canada’s stated commitment to reconciliation,” said Chief Reg Niganobe in a statement.
“First Nations only enter into IBAs as a way to avoid litigation and gain some equity or equality in projects which affect our people, land, or culture. Canada’s actions here cast further doubt on the honour of the Crown or commitment to setting things right with First Nations,” he added.
The Innu Nation is looking to be provided with detailed financial modelling, a commitment to revise the agreement in principle to protect Innu benefits, and to give the nation a seat at the negotiating table.
The provincial government declined to comment. The federal government did not return a request for comment by deadline.
John Woodside / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada's National Observer
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