ocal First Nations bands were recently given a favourable verdict in their federal case to protect Alberta ’s threatened woodland caribou.
On July 28, Beaver Lake Cree Nation, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, and Enoch Cree Nation heard in a Federal Court of Canada judgement that federal environment minister Peter Kent was wrong to have not created a recovery strategy for Alberta ’s woodland caribou.
The Court wrote: "The minister clearly erred in reaching his decision by failing to take into account the First Nations Applicants ’ Treaty Rights and the honour of the Crown in interpreting his mandate under [the federal Species at Risk Act].”
The three First Nations communities filed the lawsuit on September 8, 2010, claiming that the federal environment minister was required to protect the habitat of the woodland caribou under the Species of Risk Act, and he was supposed to have done it back in 2007.
In the court case, the federal government conceded that it was now more than four years past the deadline to complete a recovery strategy for the boreal caribou.
The court went on to say: "that it is not immediately apparent how, given the foregoing facts, the minister reasonably could have concluded that there are no imminent threats to the national recovery of boreal caribou.”
Environment minister Kent was given a deadline of September 1 to complete a recovery strategy.
Currently, woodland caribou are listed as 'threatened ’ by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development. A 2010 SRD report said: "the primary anthropogenic disturbances to caribou habitat in Alberta are related to oil and gas exploration, forest harvesting, and the construction, maintenance, and use of linear features (e.g., roads, seismic lines, pipelines, and powerlines) associated with those activities.”
The court decision noted various concessions by the federal government, including that Alberta ’s 13 herds of caribou are at elevated risk of local extinction – partly due to industrial development in their habitat. The government also conceded that habitat conditions in northeastern Alberta are "insufficient for those herds to be self sustaining,” and that there is a gap developing in herd distribution in Canada around northern Alberta ’s industrial oil sands development.
Sean Nixon, a lawyer from Woodward and Co. who represented the First Nations, said that while the result was favourable it is now up to Minister Kent to actually put a plan in place to protect the caribou.
"We think this is a useful step towards protecting woodland caribou in northeastern Alberta and towards respecting First Nations rights in the area,” Nixon said. "But really it ’s up to the federal environment minister to review the decision from the court and decide what to do next. We ’re hopeful that by the end of the summer, by September 1, there ’ll be an active plan in place to protect woodland caribou in northeastern Alberta.”
For Beaver Lake Cree Nation Chief Henry Gladue, the court ’s decision is one he hopes will benefit First Nations bands for many years.
"It ’ll probably mean that there will be a good, healthy surplus of caribou within Alberta and all of Canada too,” Gladue said. "It means a lot for future generations to be able to hunt, fish, and trap when they ’re rights are upheld like that. It does help every First Nation.”
Gladue said he hopes that local bands will be consulted for the drafting of the caribou recovery strategy.
"We hope to be part of the plan, to help develop the plan and help with implementation,” Gladue said. "So hopefully we can all sit together and develop something that will make sure that there is a healthy habitat for the boreal caribou. We ’re happy that the decision happened and we ’re looking forward to getting down and making sure that we can do the right thing.”
The Beaver Lake Cree Nation also has another lawsuit against the governments of Alberta and Canada to halt over 16,000 projected industrial developments on their traditional lands. The next court date for that case is scheduled for October 17.
