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Forum in N.B. talks solutions after oil spill

Aug 4, 2016 | 6:12 PM

People from across Treaty 6 territory and beyond came together today for a forum to discuss the recent oil spill.

The main reason for the forum was to share information, because most people aren’t getting the full story, according to Chief Wayne Semaganis of Little Pine First Nation.

“It’s not even half the story and we’re being actively denied, kept away from accessing that information,” he said. “We asked for two technical representatives to sit at the command centre and even those people are being denied access to the full information as to the scope of the damage.”

The forum, held outside Whiterock Gas Plus on Highway 4, was organized by Semaganis and Rod Gopher of Saulteaux First Nation and welcomed concerned community members to speak about the Husky Energy oil spill into the North Saskatchewan River.

The organizers said Premier Brad Wall and Husky Energy were invited and didn’t show up, but Wall said at a press conference Wednesday he was not invited.

Semaganis said legal action against Husky may be required moving forward if they do not make an effort to resolve issues with communities along the river.

“It doesn’t solve anything quick enough and it always leads to a battle and bitter feelings, but we have no choice because where are they now? They should be here working to address these things but they’re not, so litigation is basically our only recourse at the end,” he said.

Semaganis and Gopher said they are asking for a $150 million environmental protection fund from industry, provincial government and federal government. Semaganis said the money will go toward training locals on how to deal with environmental problems and buying equipment. He said the community shouldn’t have to wait around for people from outside Saskatchewan and even Canada to come in and fix problems when First Nations people can do it.

Nina Wilson, who came from Treaty 4 territory for the forum, said she’s doing everything she can to protect the environment and stressed it only takes one person to stand up and say something.

She said even if people are scared of speaking out or worried about what people might think of them, everybody needs to stand up and take action to protect the earth.

“Protection is what is going to be the antidote to all this corporate stuff going on,” she said. “We’re the medicine that’s left, as sick as we are, as poor as we are, as however messed up we are from what’s been done to us and what we do to each other, we are the strongest stance against what’s happening.”

 

A spokesperson from Husky Energy was not immediately available for comment. 
 

Sarah Rae is battlefordsNOW’s court and crime reporter. She can be reached at Sarah.Rae@jpbg.ca or tweet her @sarahjeanrae.