DEAN FULTON: Legal equality for all Canadians is the only way to de-segregate
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Updated: December 02, 2009 12:34 PM
When I read that the TNG chiefs and some Scum Lake residents presented Amarc drilling with a “cease and desist” order to stop its exploratory drilling program, I wondered why the RCMP wouldn’t have been a part of the contingency that went to serve the order.
Typically, an environmental “cease and desist” order would be signed by a judge and enforced by the RCMP.
This particular order was neither signed by a judge nor enforced by the police. It couldn’t have been less legally compelling if it were written on the back of a restaurant napkin or a cigarette pack.
This was just a letter, fabricated by the TNG, for the sole purpose of getting some press and showing how “tough” they are. It boils down to a juvenile act of chest-pounding.
Tl’etinqox (Anaham) Chief Joe Alphonse claims that the two or three weeks of drilling was having an “impact” on the salmon in Scum Lake.
Did Joe swim down and personally ask those salmon if they were being impacted in some way? If so, I’d like to see a transcript of the interview.
Did the TNG conduct some sort of scientific study regarding these fish? Even if the TNG could have found the funding, they couldn’t possibly have compiled any hard evidence to support their claim, unless there were dead fish washing up on the shore.
If that were the case, I’m sure the photos of said fish would be all over the media, including this newspaper. The TNG repeat often that they don’t trust the provincial government because of it’s use of misinformation — they usually refer to it as “lying.” This is misinformation in the classic government style.
The legal double standard continues in the minds of these native leaders. They are quick to wave the Canadian Constitution at anyone who challenges their perception of their rights — yet feel free to disregard it when that better suits their purpose.
I will say it again and again – legal equality for all Canadians is the only way we will ever de-segregate our country. The problem is … equality is not what Joe Alphonse or many other political leaders really want.
