Consultation Required With Dene Tha’ First Nation on Shale Gas Development in the Horn River Basin

Consultation Required With Dene Tha’ First Nation on Shale Gas Development in the Horn River Basin Press Release by WDM Group PR Network, April 26, 2012, Business Review Canada
The Dene Tha’ First Nation expects full consultation on shale gas development in the Horn River Basin in northeastern B.C., given its decision not to renew a Consultation Protocol Agreement with the BC Oil and Gas Commission and Ministry of Energy and Mines. The previous Agreement expired on March 31, 2012. Under that Agreement, BC took the position that it did not have to consult with Dene Tha’ in the Horn River Basin because of the geographical scope of the “consultation area” under that Agreement. With the Agreement no longer in place, BC is required to consult with Dene Tha’ throughout its Traditional Territory in British Columbia, which includes most of the Horn River Basin. … Dene Tha’ has expressed a number of concerns to the government of B.C. about negative impacts from shale gas development, including to water quality and quantity, threatened species such as caribou, and the exercise of their Treaty 8 rights. … As Dene Tha’ Chief James Ahnassay explains, “We are deeply concerned about the lack of adequate information necessary to understand the impacts of shale gas development to the environment and our rights, given that shale gas technologies are new to northeastern B.C., enormous volumes of water are required, serious contamination problems have arisen with shale gas development in the United States, and insufficient studies have been undertaken to identify and address impacts from shale gas technologies.”