Lubicon First Nation files lawsuit against Calgary-based PennWest over fracking by Bob Weber, Canadian Press, December 2, 2013, Calgary Herald
An Alberta First Nation that has been fighting for a reserve for decades has asked for an injunction against a Calgary energy company to stop drilling on lands the group seeks to claim. The lawsuit, filed by the Lubicon First Nation against PennWest Exploration (TSX:PWT), seeks to stop all fracking activity on lands around Haig Lake. “We’re trying to get an injunction to have them vacate the premises and cease all activities there,” said Lubicon lawyer James O’Reilly from Montreal. “That area is the very area that was one of the reserves to be set aside for the Lubicons. That’s a very sacred place and a very, very traditional place.”
Last week, the First Nation set up a blockade to keep PennWest workers off an access road leading to a drill site. It was still in place Monday. The blockade was not supported by the Lubicon Band, a separate group that has elected its own chief and council and is recognized by the federal government. In its lawsuit, the First Nation argues that the Alberta government can’t grant mineral rights on land the Lubicon never surrendered to it. The band and the federal and provincial governments have been trying to work out a land claim since the 1980s, coming closest in 1988 after a proposed settlement with traditional Chief Bernard Ominayak and championed by then-premier Don Getty. That deal fell apart in 1995 over disputes about the size of the band. However, the province continued to issue energy leases in the area, including around Haig Lake. That early exploration was accompanied by discussions between PennWest and Ominayak’s group, said O’Reilly. He said that consultation stopped after last February’s election of Billy Joe Laboucan as chief of the federally recognized Lubicon Band. “At least (before) there were some meaningful and significant discussions,” said O’Reilly. “PennWest cut all that off, supposedly, when they were told (to) by Indian Affairs.”
PennWest officials have said provincial regulations require them to deal with federally recognized bands. Statements of claim contain allegations that have not been proven in court. The company has yet to file a statement of defence against Monday’s lawsuit and wasn’t immediately able to comment on it. It’s the second lawsuit the Lubicon First Nation has filed in recent months. O’Reilly described the recent filing as a “sequel” to first. Last June, the First Nation sued the federal government for a reserve. The statement of claim calls for the band to be given title to up to 246 square kilometres of land, including natural resources and hunting, fishing and trapping rights. It wants all existing oil and natural gas leases and permits granted by Alberta to companies to be declared null and void and $700 million in compensation for resources already taken off their land. The band also wants Ottawa to declare that the federal government breached the honour of the Crown by failing to negotiate with the Lubicon in good faith over the years and to admit that it deliberately promoted dissent within the band. [Emphasis added]
Lubicon Nation Blocks Access Road to Fracking Site, First Nation divided as RCMP, government give order to vacate by Meagan Wohlberg, November 30th, 2013, dissidentvoice.org
Members of a First Nation in northern Alberta are occupying an access road to an oil lease site on their territory where a company intends to horizontally drill using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, without their consent. Peace River RCMP confront members of the Lubicon Lake Nation on Wednesday who are currently blocking Penn West from fracking on their traditional territory by occupying an access road. The traditional chief and council of Lubicon Lake Cree Nation along with approximately 20 members began peacefully blockading an access road to a Penn West Petroleum Ltd. site on Tuesday after they discovered the company bringing equipment and workers into the area without notice.
Chief Bernard Ominayak said the Lubicon Nation requires industry to obtain free, prior and informed consent prior to developing on their territory, which has not happened. Instead, members were notified by the arrival of the company on their territory. … The decision to block the road was made after Penn West representatives met with Lubicon chief, council, elders and citizens on November 25, but refused to cease their operations. “The government of the Lubicon Lake Nation is enforcing these laws as they would any other and expect the RCMP to join them to do the same,” stated a press release from the Lubicon. “Penn West has been repeatedly informed by the nation that no foreign government, including any Canadian endorsed, illegal, Indian Act formed government, will represent the Lubicon Lake Nation with regards to their lands.” … The Penn West site sits near two bodies of water, Haig Lake and Sawn Lake, which are the community’s main source of fish.
Members of the Peace River RCMP detachment visited the blockade site three times on Wednesday, once with Richard Goy from Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD), who delivered an order to remove protesters from the road under the Public Lands Act. The last time occurred in the evening, when Gladue said officers showed up wanting to see if the blockaders “were happy.” Three RCMP vehicles returned to the site on Thursday afternoon, taking photos of protesters and their license plate numbers before leaving. As of Friday afternoon, police or government officials had yet to return to the site or make any arrests.
A letter sent Wednesday to the provincial government from Lubicon’s legal counsel argued that no order could be made using the Public Lands Act because the First Nation has filed a statement of claim on the land dispute, putting it currently before the courts. The letter also referred to the Lubicon’s Charter rights to peacefully assemble within their territory.
The blockade has highlighted division within the Lubicon nation. The federally-recognized chief and council established through the Indian Act in February 2013 are rejecting the acts of what they say is “a dissident group of Lubicon members” that are not supported by the democratically elected government. “As the elected governing chief and council – recognized as such by the provincial and federal governments – we do not agree with or condone these actions,” Chief Billy Joe Laboucan said in a press release on Wednesday. “We have been working with Penn West Exploration on an ongoing basis as the legitimate representatives of the Lubicon people and don’t want this jeopardized.” Laboucan said Ominayak was invited to run in a “legitimate election” but declined. He said Ominayak’s actions are “counter-productive” and “don’t represent the approach of the recognized Lubicon government or the wishes of the majority of our people.”
But Gladue said the majority of Lubicon members voted in a more recent election on May 30, 2013 in favour of Ominayak, held in the nation’s central community of Little Buffalo and under the traditional customs used to elect chief and council for generations. He called Laboucan’s government a “puppet council” put in place by the Alberta and federal governments to “divide and conquer,” and open the door to development on their resource-rich territory. He said Laboucan hasn’t lived in the community of Little Buffalo for decades. “The sad thing is that some of our people have jumped on the bandwagon with Indian Affairs and are being told what to say and do on a daily basis,” Gladue said. “Now with the token chief and council, the government is going to use them to destroy what we’ve been fighting for all along.”
Laboucan said he and his council are working at mediating a solution agreeable to all parties. “We want to resolve this issue in a way that promotes positive working relationships and long-term benefits for everyone involved, doing so as the elected and recognized government of the Lubicon Lake people,” he said.
Meagan Chelsea Wohlberg studied philosophy and literature at the University of Saskatchewan before getting a graduate diploma in journalism from Concordia University in Montreal. She works as editor for the independent weekly Northern Journal in Fort Smith, NWT where this article first appeared. [Emphasis added]
Lubicon Nation sets up camp on unceded lands, Driven to enforce their Law Press Release, November 26, 2013
Lubicon Lake Nation Tells Penn West Petroleum to Frack Off!:
Peaceful Occupation of Penn West Petroleum Site Begins Little Buffalo, AB/ The Lubicon Lake Nation people have been driven to enforce their Law against PENN WEST PETROLEUM LTD. (TSX: PWT); (NYSE: PWE) today on an oil lease site located in their Territory by peacefully occupying a nearby access road. The oil and gas giant.
Penn West has indicated they intend to drill and use hydraulic fracturing at the location. The site is at the headwaters of a nearby lake, bordered by the traditional Lubicon community of Kinosew Sakahikan referred to provincially as Haig Lake.
Long-time Chief Bernard Ominayak said this evening: We have never signed treaty, ceded our land, nor sold it to anybody. It’s high time that all resource companies operating on Lubicon Lake Nation lands, including Penn West, as well as the Provincial and Canadian governments respect that and stop destroying Lubicon land and stealing Lubicon resources.
The Lubicon Lake Nation has not signed treaty with the Crown or any other foreign body at any time. As such, they remain the sole title holders and retain the Aboriginal rights to their land and resources and do not recognize the authority of the Province to issue any type of permits to industry for the exploitation of Lubicon land. The Government of the Lubicon Lake Nation requires industry to obtain the free, prior and informed consent from the Nation prior to any environmentally harmful project moving forward. This hasn’t happened in this case according to Chief Ominayak. Penn West has been repeatedly informed by the Nation that no foreign government, including any Canadian endorsed, illegal, Indian Act formed government, will represent the Lubicon Lake Nation with regards to their lands.
On November 18, 2013, a group of Lubicon Lake Nation people visited the Penn West jobsite to inquire about the presence of equipment and large number of Penn West personnel on location, as the Lubicon Lake Nation was not properly consulted and has not given their consent to Penn West. Initially, Penn West agreed to halt the work and attend a meeting on November 20, 2013. The following day the company called to cancel the meeting and restarted their illegal operations. As a result, the Government of Lubicon Lake Nation passed a Council Resolution and Order indicating that Penn West was trespassing on Lubicon land and had to vacate the territory immediately. This Order was issued in accordance with two Lubicon statutes that had been passed by the Government of the Lubicon Lake Nation in 1988 and 2012. The Government of the Lubicon Lake Nation is enforcing these laws as they would any other and expect the RCMP to join them to do the same.
Following receipt of the Orders, on November 25, 2013, Penn West representatives met at the Lubicon Lake Nation Administration Office with Chief Ominayak, Council, Elders, Council representatives and a group of Lubicon Lake Nation citizens. Penn West refused to address the issues and presented a hardline position: They would not engage with the Lubicon Lake Nation government nor would they cease their operations. Lubicon citizens and representatives outlined yet again that they were being forced into third world living conditions, only to watch while oil and gas companies like Penn West extract billions of dollars in oil and gas from their lands.
Forced into this difficult position, the people of the Lubicon Lake Nation have travelled one hour deep into their territory and indicate that they intend to remain at the location until Penn West ceases operations and takes their requests seriously, as Penn West’s development is having real consequences on their health, wellbeing and lands of the Lubicon Lake Nation, including the air, water, soils and animal habitats.
For More Information Contact:
Councillor Dwight Gladue
Lubicon Lake Nation
P.O. Box 6731 Stn. Main
Peace River, AB T8S 1S3
(780) 625-4208 Direct
(780) 629-3939 Fax
email hidden; JavaScript is required
www.LubiconLakeNation.ca
Lubicon Lake Nation Enforces Eviction Notice Against Penn W
LUBICON LAKE NATION OPERATION “FRACK OFF” CONTINUES: LUBICON THREATENED AT PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY OF PENN WEST PETROLEUM SITE Press Release, November 27, 2013
Lubicon Lake Nation Operation “Frack Off” Continues: Lubicon Threatened at Peaceful Assembly of Penn West Petroleum Site
Little Buffalo, AB/ Following the enforcement of a trespass related eviction order by the Lubicon Lake Nation against oil and gas giant PENN WEST PETROLEUM LTD. (TSX: PWT); (NYSE: PWE) yesterday afternoon. The sun rose this morning on the Lubicon Lake Nation with their citizens still assembled at the construction site where the company intends to drill for oil using hydraulic fracturing. The site is very close to the historic Lubicon community of Kinosew Sakahikan referred to provincially as Haig Lake which is still occupied today. This morning Penn West officials travelled to the site with heavy equipment operators. At one
point a Lubicon citizen commented that Penn West was “trying to run over us” with a 30 tonne rock truck, commonly seen in mining operations. Video of the incident and the assembly have been posted to YouTube under the username: LubiconLakeNation. “It’s clear this was an attempt to escalate the situation by Penn West. They are trying to make us look like we’re the
unreasonable ones, like terrorists. But really it’s them who are putting our people in danger intentionally.” Says Cynthia Tomlinson, the Lubicon Lake Nation Advisor for Lands and Negotiations.
Yesterday, the Lubicon Lake Nation assembly indicated that they intend to remain at the location until Penn West agrees to act reasonably and ceases operations until the issues are resolved. This must include Penn West recognizing that the Canadian and Provincial Governments have failed in their legal responsibility to enter into Treaty with the Lubicon prior to entering the land; and that the Lubicon Lake Nation is a sovereign Nation governed under its own laws which Penn West must respect and adhere to as they would for any other government.
For More Information Contact:
Councillor Dwight Gladue
Lubicon Lake Nation
P.O. Box 6731 Stn. Main
Peace River, AB T8S 1S3
(780) 625-4208 Direct
(780) 629-3939 Fax
email hidden; JavaScript is required
www.LubiconLakeNation.ca
Twitter: @LubiconNation