Since the New Year, the Beaver Lake Cree legal team has been working flat-out, devoting every waking hour to preparing for the Feb 19 hearing. That date is fast approaching, and we want to make sure the Beaver Lake Cree enter that courtroom with full legal and grassroots support.....
At the Frontlines of Climate Change
Wednesday February 6th 2019 • Doors 6:30, event 7-9pm
Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, 16 Spadina Road, Toronto, ON
About the Event
Please join us for an evening of story-telling and solidarity. All are welcome!
The Tar Sands Trial aims to force Canada and Alberta to honour their treaty obligations to the Beaver Lake Cree and — by extension — all Nations across the country. That means taking on the toxic tar sands and rampant industrial development that takes up 80% of the territory of the Beaver Lake Cree. It means forging a new framework that evaluates new projects according to cumulative impacts on the water, forests, and animals that Indigenous Peoples were promised would be there 'as long as the grass grows and the rivers flow'.
Featuring:
COLE GLADUE, Beaver Lake Cree Nation
LAURIE MACKENZIE, RAVEN (Respecting Aboriginal Values and Environmental Needs)
..update
..from an email
On Tuesday, Feb 19, Beaver Lake Cree Nation will be arguing a key motion in their precedent-setting constitutional challenge over the violation of their Treaty rights and the devastation of their lands.
This is a Nation who've fought, who've refused to be silenced, and who've made sacrifices to force protections to land, air and water that will benefit everyone. We all owe a debt of gratitude to this tiny Nation who are standing toe to toe with Canada and Alberta to press for the honouring of treaty rights and an end to unchecked tar sands development in Alberta.
Please support the Beaver Lake Cree as they take on the fight of a generation.
..from an email.
quote:
Throughout the hearing, the court heard affidavit evidence from 10 band members. In submission after submission, Beaver Lake Cree people expressed many painful losses. Elders, knowledge keepers and community members described how, due to unchecked industry, they are no longer able to meaningfully exercise the way of life and culture that was promised to them under Treaty 6. They spoke of the broken promises reflected in the 19,000+ Crown authorizations for tar sands and other industrial development in their territory.
Loss of caribou, pollution of water, fragmentation of culture: over three long days, Beaver Lake Cree witnesses spoke of the tragic consequences of neglected treaty rights in northern Alberta.
It was inspiring to see the resilience of this community that travelled for hours to have their presence felt. Youth sat front and centre, attentively listening and watching the colonial system in action. Elders struggled to hear but seemed to find humour in the evidence; specifically at claims from the province that Beaver Lake does not live in poverty.
Part of what was being debated at the hearing is whether the issues raised by the Beaver Lake Cree are of national importance. Of course, we think that they are: this is a case that goes to the heart of what Canada’s responsibility to uphold the treaties really means. In particular, the case — known as The Tar Sands Trial — addresses questions about whether Treaty 6 (and all the Numbered Treaties) assures Indigenous Peoples of a way of life, and whether there should be limits to how much land and resources the Crown can take up, as allowed in the agreement, before the Treaty is infringed.
Meanwhile, the Canadian government denies that the rights asserted by the Beaver Lake Cree even exist. The Crown denies that treaty infringement has taken place. For these hearings, a whole suite of Department of Justice lawyers has been tasked to challenge an under-resourced First Nation’s attempts to secure the funding it needs to go to trial.
“Canada’s position in Court stands in stark contrast to the high-level promises of the Trudeau government to promote reconciliation and to listen to Indigenous people,” says Me Karey Brooks, legal counsel for Beaver Lake Cree. “Without this case, and the advanced funding order, these critically important issues will not get resolved.”
It is important to remember that reconciliation has a specific meaning in law: it is about forcing Crown sovereignty to take account with and be reconciled with the pre-existing rights of Indigenous Peoples, reflecting the prior use and occupation of land and resources. The issues being brought forward by the Beaver Lake Cree are deeply significant for First Nations across the country – and for all Canadians who care about acting honourably and setting right our relationships with Indigenous Peoples.
..update from an email
quote:
When it surfaced that the Beaver Lake Cree needed $120k - fast - to push back against an appeal that threatens to derail their long-fought Tar Sands Trial, we didn’t know what to do. How do you reach out, during a pandemic and free-falling economy, when people everywhere are facing such deep uncertainty?
But we made a commitment to stand with our friends in northern Alberta. So, we turned to you.
And - wow!- did you ever respond. From Seattle to Montreal to California, people mustered an astonishing $60,000 in a single week. The effect of your generosity has lifted spirits and rekindled hopes in tandem with the emergence of springtime’s first buds and blooms.
In just one week, you have propelled this urgent campaign halfway to its goal.
There is one thing for certain now: this community is as resilient as it is committed. Those who are financially struggling wrote in with messages of solidarity. Others who are more fortunate in this economic crisis have been extraordinarily giving. Thanks to a generous pool of matching funds, every dollar donated is being doubled. We fill in for one another in times like these, and together we are rising to the challenge of sustaining the Tar Sands Trial.
As we recover from the pandemic, there are two paths forward.
One path forward leads to doubling down on tar sands industries, sacrificing our children's and grandchildren's futures for the benefit of business elites. That path involves shortsighted decisions — like the one taken last week by Alberta’s energy regulator, who jettisoned environmental monitoring requirements for tar sands giants.
The other path forward has us re-invent our economies, and our relationships - with the Earth, and with one another. We can make innovative choices to respond to, and recover from, Covid-19 in areas like affordable housing, health care, and the energy sector. On the renewable energy front alone, Canada would create nearly four million new jobs by using public stimulus funding to move to a net zero-emissions economy by 2050.*
This week, many of you showed how strongly you believe in the path of reinvention and innovation: springing forward, instead of falling back.
Thanks for the information epaulo13. I just donated to the fund. If anyone else wants to, here is the link.
https://fundraise.raventrust.com/give/152448/#!/donation/checkout
..cool. so did i.
https://raventrust.com/resources
"Our small but mighty organization has a laser focus: we raise legal defence funds for Indigenous Peoples to defend their treaty rights and the integrity of their tribal lands and cultures. We stand shoulder to shoulder in support of the rights of Indigenous Peoples, so that we can achieve parity for the people on whose land we live."
For the last decade, the Beaver Lake Cree Nation has proactively sought environmental justice and recognition of their Treaty rights. Last fall, the Beaver Lake Cree were awarded a rare Advanced Costs order that would have covered 2/3 of their trial costs. Granting the Advance Costs, the judge wrote that the court was “unwilling to force Beaver Lake leadership to choose between pursuing this litigation and attempting to provide for the basic necessities of life that most citizens take for granted.”
However, Canada and Alberta have appealed that ruling, forcing Beaver Lake Cree back to court on June 4. According to Crystal Lameman, BLCN Government Relations Advisor/Treaty Coordinator, “The Crown has consistently denied that the Treaty promises my community the continuance of its way of life, and it denies that under the Treaty it must consider the combined effects of multiple industrial activities on the way of life of the Beaver Lake Cree over time. The appeal decision will determine whether or not the Nation will continue on our path to access justice.”
A Behind the Scenes Look at the Tar Sands Trial
Webinar Registration
On Thursday May 28th at 4 pm PDT, join Beaver Lake Cree’s Crystal Lameman, together with BLCN’s legal counsel Karey Brooks for a lively and deep discussion about the Tar Sands Trial. Learn about the pending appeal hearing — June 4, 2020 — and what it means for the historic and groundbreaking Tar Sands Trial.
..the above webinar was awesome. and the explanation of the trial was brilliant. the webinar was recorded so will post here when it arrives. i recommend that everyone watch it if they can.
..in the mean time register for this.
Beaver Lake Cree Rally (virtual)
A short (1/2hr) gathering to send supportive messages and hold up solidarity messages for Beaver Lake Cree as they go to court to defend The Tar Sands Trial.
Jun 3, 2020 05:00 PM Pacific time
..here's yesterday's webinar. about 1 hr long. worth every minute of it.
..from an email
quote:
For the past month, we’ve been reaching out to you about the tough fight facing Alberta’s Beaver Lake Cree. First, we told you about the outrageous injustice being faced by a small Indigenous Nation, forced to argue their financial poverty in court - on their own dime - while facing the deep-pocketed governments of Alberta and Canada. Then, we asked you to contribute whatever time or financial resources you could muster to spread the word and assemble a legal defence fund for Beaver Lake Cree Nation.
You didn’t just respond: you roared.
In 5 ½ weeks, over 1200 people donated a total of $148,000; 80 people attended our virtual rally and 320 people sat in on a webinar with Crystal Lameman and lawyer Karey Brooks. (https://tarsandstrial.com/an-insiders-look-at-the-tar-sands-trial/) With every action you took you played a part in fulfilling a promise to Beaver Lake Cree: that the RAVEN community would persevere through thick and thin to see the Tar Sands Trial have its day in court.
Many of you have asked us how the hearing went. The proceedings took place behind closed doors: unfortunately, the technology used didn’t permit public access. In their appeal, Canada and Alberta conceded two out of three points that have to be proven to obtain advance costs: one, that the case has merit, and two, that it is of public importance. However, they contested the third point - Justice Browne’s finding that Beaver Lake Cree cannot afford the litigation. The governments’ position is that Beaver Lake Cree should not receive any advance costs unless they are completely destitute. The decision will be made by three justices who may take weeks, or months, to weigh the legal arguments and precedents before delivering a judgment.
Read more about what’s at stake with this hearing in this Briarpatch piece.
update
..from an email
quote:
Last fall, the RAVEN community empowered Beaver Lake Cree Nation with the resources to pursue — and win — a partial advance costs award for a case that was ruled to be of national importance.
Outrageously, Canada and Alberta appealed, and in June the award decision was overturned by the Alberta Court of Appeal. The Court ruled that the Beaver Lake Cree government must exhaust all available resources before they can qualify for any amount of advance costs. Essentially: the BLCN government must bankrupt itself in order to defend its treaty and constitutional rights.
The decision to revoke funding for Beaver Lake Cree essentially closes the door for other Nations to receive advance costs awards to pursue justice. It is a setback to reconciliation: that’s why the Beaver Lake Cree are filing an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
According to Beaver Lake Cree’s Government Relations Adviser & Treaty Coordinator Crystal Lameman, “The Alberta Court of Appeal has so severely narrowed the criteria for financial need that it will be impossible for most First Nations to obtain an advance cost order.”
In the ruling, the Alberta Court of Appeal found that if Nations were recipients of federal funding, proven in multiple reports to be woefully inadequate — including the type of critical funding that is afforded any municipality in the country for roads, infrastructure, and health care — they would be disqualified from receiving advance costs. The costly demands placed on First Nations to vindicate their constitutional rights in court clash with a painful reality – First Nations are amongst the poorest people in Canada. Amidst that poverty, their governments are responsible for ensuring their communities endure and thrive over many generations. Yet a community cannot survive if its members are destitute or lands spoiled.
People power has kept the Tar Sands Trial alive through nearly a decade of government’s delay tactics. It’s energizing to reflect on our past successes, so that we can once again muster our forces to deliver the resources Beaver Lake Cree require — and deserve — to take on the Tar Sands behemoth.
If this tenacious First Nation can take their treaty rights case to trial, the Nation could set a precedent that forces all projects to be evaluated according to their cumulative impacts on Indigenous rights. That victory would forever change the way business is done in Canada’s oil patch.
If you can afford to do so, please donate to the Beaver Lake Cree case. It is important for them, and for the precedent it sets for other cases. I just did.
https://fundraise.raventrust.com/give/152448/#!/donation/checkout
..tomorrow. i screenshot because copy and paste didn't work well. i thought the intervener list was interesting.
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Late Start: 10:30 a.m.
Germaine Anderson on her own behalf and on behalf of all other Beaver Lake Cree Nation beneficiaries of Treaty No. 6 and Beaver Lake Cree Nation v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta, et al.
(Alberta) (Civil) (By Leave)
Restricted Access Order / Sealed material: There is a restricted access order from the lower courts; pursuant to that Order, certain material is sealed.
..not sure if some or any of tomorrow's court case will be aired because of the restricted access but if there is it will be viewed.....
https://www.scc-csc.ca/case-dossier/info/webcastview-webdiffusionvue-eng.aspx?cas=39323&id=live-endirect&date=2021-11-04
If you can afford to do so, please donate to the Beaver Lake Cree case. It is important for them, and for the precedent it sets for other cases. I just did.
https://fundraise.raventrust.com/give/152448/#!/donation/checkout
What happened at the Supreme Court of Canada? Inside the rarefied world of Advance Cost
Please join us as we unpack Beaver Lake Cree Nation’s appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, and why the Court’s ultimate decision on the remedy of advanced interim costs will be important for Indigenous Nations across the country.
Speakers:
Karey Brooks, of JFK Law Corporation, lead counsel for Beaver Lake Cree Nation.
David Robbins, of Woodward and Co. LLP, who represented Tsilhqot’in Nation in both its successful title case and awarding of advanced costs.
Nov 10, 2021 05:00 PM in Vancouver
..here is the above webinair on video
VIDEO: Inside the rarified world of Advance Costs
..it is a very good idea to make the time to give a listen to the video. it contributes to the understanding of the laws created by govs that govern the courts. and how it is used to prevent access, in this, to indigenous folk. and more broadly to people of canada. those laws are enacted during important cases and replicated over and over in order to prevent not only justice from occurring but change.
..an email from raven.
quote:
This morning we woke up to the best news.
After months of nail-biting, Beaver Lake Cree Nation won a unanimous Supreme Court Decision that will echo down the years as a landmark ruling on Indigenous access to justice. In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada allowed Beaver Lake Cree’s appeal of the Alberta Court’s decision to set aside an order for advanced costs.
Beaver Lake Cree Nation’s “Defend the Treaties” constitutional challenge, filed in 2008, argues that the cumulative impacts of industry in their territory amount to breach of Treaty. In 2019 Beaver Lake Cree Nation won an Advance Costs order that would have divided trial costs equally among the BLCN, Canada and Alberta. That decision was overturned by Alberta’s appeal court, leaving the Nation struggling to find ways to pay for its groundbreaking Defend the Treaties case.
While the SCC ruling requires Beaver Lake Cree Nation to go back to the trial judge for a deep dive into BLCN’s financial situation and how it meets the fine-print criteria set out by the court , their appeal is a huge win for access to justice. Today, the court recognized that respecting Indigenous self-determination — to take care of pressing community needs first, before spending on court costs — must come first in an era of reconciliation.
This is a big win for the Nation. In Chief Germaine Anderson’s own words:
“This decision gives us solid ground to stand on when we go back to the lower court to argue for advance costs. As always, my Council and I are hopeful that the Crown defendants will negotiate a resolution to costs. To date, the Crown has refused to negotiate any costs for the litigation, or the issues raised in the Nation’s underlying litigation.”
Wonderful news at a time when there is little of it.
..this piece is from may 11.
Mediating a Marriage on the Rocks: Anderson v. Alberta
The relationship between Canada and First Nations plays out like a marriage on the rocks. Once upon a time, separate Nations came together: some brought a love of land, and others had more of a lust for it. They made a solemn covenant, sealed the deal in ceremony, and then: things went horribly sideways.
Maybe it was the way Canada kept insisting that their good intentions were enough to excuse abuse and neglect. Or how, though they kept saying “sorry”, they couldn’t help but take up all the space, ‘flagspreading’ their way to occupy 98% of the sofa without once handing over the remote. Tired of watching Beachcombers re-runs and being gaslit over wounds ancient and fresh, Indigenous Peoples negotiated, accommodated and — finally — litigated.
So it’s no big surprise that Canada’s legal systems tend to borrow from family law when it comes to repairing relationships. From the issuance of Advance Costs to fund litigation, all the way down to the idea of reconciliation itself, instruments developed to settle disputes between quarrelling parties have been adapted to address this country’s most fundamental fallout.
Let’s look at just one case: colloquially known as the Defend the Treaties trial, Anderson v Alberta was launched in 2008 by Beaver Lake Cree Nation(BLCN). Located 200 km north of Edmonton in the heart of what was once Alberta’s boreal forest, BLCN was faced with the explosive expansion of oil and gas projects in their territory. As a result, the community was finding it increasingly impossible to get out on the land to hunt, fish, and collect berries and medicines. Without these activities, it was growing difficult for families to make ends meet, and to pass on cultural knowledge from elders to parents, and from parents to children.
Imagine if every time you set out to check on your traplines, you discovered another road, another well, another tailings pond. What you once knew as a sinuous landscape layered with lineages of your ancestral ecosystem knowledge has become a maze of dead-ends and no-go zones. Imagine if the rare caribou or moose you did encounter was inedible, the meat poisoned after the animal licked at the salty-tasting bitumen that seeps to the bog’s surface because of in situ oil sands extraction.
For the small Indigenous Nation, the writing was on the wall: go to court, or lose everything at the heart of what it means to be Beaver Lake Cree.
The Ecological Promise at the Heart of Canada’s Treaties
“A truly exceptional matter of public interest.”
That’s how Canada’s Supreme Court described Beaver Lake Cree Nation’s legal challenge. At its core, the case involves a tiny Nation standing up to Canada and Alberta to demand that the protections assured in Treaty 6 be upheld. The treaty, signed in 1876, spells it out in black and white: Indigenous rights to hunt, fish, and practice cultural activities on their territory are enshrined in perpetuity in one of the country’s oldest contracts.
The treaty protects not just reserve land, but access to vast tracts of boreal forest that Beaver Lake Cree have been sustained by, and have stewarded, for thousands of years.
The Defend the Treaties case emphasises that it’s the cumulative impacts of industry on treaty rights that is at issue. A win would force regulators to evaluate new project applications not piecemeal, as is currently the practice, but according to how any well, mine, or pipeline fit into the overall picture affecting the availability, health and productivity of hunting and fishing grounds.....
