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July 26th, 2017

NDP: Liberals fail to meaningfully consult with Indigenous Peoples

OTTAWA – New Democrats are calling on the Liberal government to fix the broken NEB process, and to meaningfully consult with Indigenous Peoples in order to develop a true nation-to-nation relationship. The NDP is urging the Liberals to fix the process after the Supreme Court of Canada decided today that consultations with Indigenous Peoples in the Clyde River case had been entirely inadequate.

“The Supreme Court has once again upheld the duty to meaningfully consult and accommodate Indigenous peoples,” said the NDP’s Indigenous and Northern Affairs Critic, Romeo Saganash. “It is disappointing that, even though the Supreme Court strongly criticized the lack of consultation in the Clyde River case, the Trudeau government actually argued before the court that the process had been adequate, and called for the appeal to be dismissed.”

Today, the Supreme Court of Canada found that consultation by the NEB regarding planned seismic testing for oil exploration in the Arctic had been entirely inadequate and quashed the NEB’s approval. Today’s ruling is yet another indictment of the broken NEB process which the Liberals continue to use to approve major resource projects.

“The government cannot continue to pay lip service to reconciliation and Indigenous rights while continuing to ignore the duty to consult and accommodate,” added Saganash. “It is insulting to see this government refuse, time after time, to walk the walk. They must immediately fix this broken process."