Haisla say documents show Enbridge Northern Gateway process flawed
Documents obtained through an access to information request raise concerns from government staff
The Haisla First Nation has obtained documents through an access to information request, showing government staff raised concerns about whether the joint review panel process for the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline met the Crown's duty to consult and accommodate First Nations.
"They were basically raising the same concerns we had," Haisla chief counsellor Ellis Ross told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.
"Your own staff people are telling you this process is not adequate. It's not following case law principles."
It's supposed to be a two way street. It's supposed to be a collaboration going back and forth on a development process.- Ellis Ross, chief counsellor of the Haisla First Nation
The documents obtained — e-mails from staff at Transportation Canada and Environment Canada — were written six years ago. The Haisla made the access to information request four years ago.
"Overall, [Environment Canada] remains concerned with the proposed approach to consultation and the considerable uncertainty it raises," reads one e-mail from Environment Canada.
The e-mail goes on to outline what those concerns are, which includes "First Nations were not involved in the design of the consultation process," and a "lack of clarity about First Nations' rights and title considerations in this model."
The e-mail from Transport Canada also raises specific issues.
"The consultation plan as written does not appear to be flexible enough to account for changing circumstances and incoming information (a consultation plan is one that is flexible and responsive)," it reads.
Ross doesn't believe the issues of consultation have been resolved since.
"If there was a time, that was the time to do it," he said.
"It's supposed to be a two way street. It's supposed to be a collaboration going back and forth on a development process, or actually trying to address the concerns around accommodating rights and title. this did not happen."
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The Haisla First Nation is taking the federal government to court, challenging the joint review process.
Ross said the deadline to make the documents admissible in court has passed.
The federal government declined to comment, citing the lawsuit.
A request for comment to Enbridge wasn't returned.
To hear the full interview with Ellis Ross, listen to the audio labelled: Haisla say documents show Enbridge Northern Gateway process flawed.
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