The Cadre, Oct. 7, i975, page 6

Conud

INTRODUCTION 8. l. A cry for justice

’ and their way of life

rings out today

from the Native Peoples , who inhabit. the Canadian North. Dramatically, .

on a massive scale

the Native Peoples of the North find themselves

being threatened

by the headlong search for new energy sources on this continent. 9

. At the same time,

other voices are raising serious ethical questions about

the enormous demands for energy required to maintain

high standards of wealth and comfort in industrial somety. _

A variety of public .nterest groups are calling for

greater care of the environment and responsible stewardship

of the energy resources

in this country.

. We, Catholic bishops of Canada,

want to echo these cries for justice

and demands for stewardship

in the Canadian North.

They tell us much

, - about ourselves as citizens and consumers, , — about the industrial society of North America, — about the Native Peoples of the North. 10

As Christians, ,

we cannot ignore the pressing

ethical issues of northern development.

For the living God

the God we worship,

is the Lord of Creation

and Justice.

. We wish to share with you,

fellow citizens,

some reflections and judgements

on the ethical problems

posed b the industrial development

of the anadian North. (1) '

We hope that these reflections and judgements will contribute to more public debate

and stimulate alternative policies

regarding the future development

of the North. .

We also ask that these expressed concerns be tested in the public arena ’ along with other points of view.

THE NORTHERN DILEMMA

r:

is

Since “time beyond memory", the vast land mass that covers the northern tips of our provinces and the sub-Arctic regions has been the home for many of t. :is country's Native Peoples: Indians, Inuit,

' Metis.

Through time, these Native Peoples

developed seeial, cultural economic, , v m- and re igious patterns of ife ' . . , which were in harmony With

the rhythms of the land itself. (2)

. This land has been the source of livelihood

for a si it'icant portion

of Nor em Native Peotples along with a number 0 early white settlers. , it has been the basis of their traditional economy

~ hunting. ,

- fishing,

- trap in . a - - For the heave Peoples _ . ‘ ‘ g the land is more than simply , , , asourceoffoodor‘ _ .~“'" * The land itself constitutes . , , . a rmanentsenss ',_, " f, g, 0 security. well-being;an "‘ '

12.

)l‘ eneratlons this land > '

as eflned the hosts at who: the natives are as a people. I . their own words.

\ .

four land is our life." (8)

A f‘ier countless generations

0, ti- ii- 0.

V‘ ' :le some no

If ox“ th to

Fr

C

n

O!

:ccupation. use and care . Native Peo lee of the North me come to c aim their rights :nese lands. (4) _ . natives - giving u their life xuntin , ishing, and tra ping 5e lan s remain essentialJ .ieir future economic development. these northern lands min a natural storehouse me of the most valuable resources us continent ‘ _ :(Jtt'ntlal reserves of oil and natural gas, ~owerful river systems and _ lCh mineral deposits,

- unta ped

.which we ofleu ' only in

But now the “energy crisis"

in the industrial world

is posing a serious challenge

to the people and resources,

of the northern lands. .

The search for new supplies of - Ol ,

- as, — electricity on this continent is largely focussed on the energy resources of orth.

the anadian

. In recent (ears, N

provincia governments, crown corporations and rivate com ames have been p anning large scale rejects - ' to harness e power potential of the northern rivers. - Dams, - power plants, - railroads, - highways _ are now under construction in several provmces: . 0 the James Bay hydro project in northern Quebec; _ 0 the Churchill-Nelson hydro develcnment in northern Manitoba; . I a , 0 the Churchill Falls hydro prOJec in Labrador; 0 the hydro electric plants . in northwest British Columbia.

. Simultaneousl

the Canadian North has been sighted as a major region for potential reserves of OIl and gas. ' Assisted by the federal government, the giants of the oil industry - xxon, - Shell, - Gulfz -— Mobil, - Sunoco, - and others have led the way, . g . . . . through their Canadian subSidiaries, in ma ing discoveries . _. and initiating plans to billld. V _ I several major industrial {rejectst (5)" ' 0 the Mackenzie Va ley pipeline in the Northwest Territories to bring natural gas _ . from A aska and the Canadian Arctic to Southern Canada and the United States; 0 the Polar Gas pipeline designed to bring natural gas from the . _ _ high Arctic to the Maritimes ‘ and the United States; 0 the Syncrude project to develogi the Atha aska tarsands in northern Alberta.

Inthisway ‘- f _ ‘i‘ the Canadian North is“ fast becoming i I" acentrestage ‘ ‘. " ' in a continentalstruggle to gain control of new ener sources. . The critica issue , is how thee northern energy resources are to be develo ed .

- by whom an for whom. We are es cially concerned that the ture of the North not be determmed by colonial patterns of development, wherein a powerful few ' end uslcontrolling both e people and the resources.

".1" MC

Some present exanijil 1:11, r of industrial plenum - ’ ve us cause for grave'concern: V, r. or what weseeeme’trfiing " g _. M 4 intheCaaadianNo . ~ '1- y 1 ’ are forms of explanation . assume happen Third World countries; _

a serious abuse of both the Nagive Peoples m .

m. are? ' ~ 0 e o . . Herein lies the Northern dilemma. :33,- ' What has been described as; ‘ ' ’ -. thil‘i‘hlidildoiiiéielfithisiationi 74% « - i e o ‘n ' ' - - nliay become our own “Third World.” '

DEMANDS FOR JUSTICE

13. Our first pastoral concern

is that ustice be done

in the uture industrial development of the Canadian North.

In various arts of the northern lands the Native Peoples" protests

have drawn attention to

a serieaof. Mastic??? . . > . ., ,

ion. Catholic Bishops A.

(i)

(ii)

I

g In, Message on

In several cases, _ Lacy, ., governments and co rations. ave secret] plann , = . _, and sudden y announced « ' _ the construction oflarge‘ , ' .,_ .l _ industrial projects I . “ - V, Without prior consultation ' with the people who Will be most directly affected. (8) As a result, ' -. v i the future lives of these Native Peoples and their cemmunities ' . tend to be planned for them by Southern interests.

The plans for these industrial projects are usually finalized and implemented before land claim settlements

ave een reached ‘ With the Native People of the region. (9) Yet for people whose land is their life, who Wish to secure control over their future economic development,

. a just settlement of their land claims

(iii)

lies ‘at the very heart of their struggle for justice. .

The construction of these industrial projec has sometimes proceeded r Without an adequate assessment of

their environmental and social consequences. In several instances, the building of

power plants and hydro ams ' Will cause the fl .ing .

of vast areas of land,

damage to the vegetation and wildlife,

and the relocation ,

of whole communities of pea le ‘ whose lives have traditional y depended on

, hunting, fishing, and trapping. (10)

(iV)

14.

15.

7 of the Native Peoples

The promise of jobs

in the construction

of theseindustrial projects has offered ‘no real alternative

way of life. .

For most of the Native People,

these jobs are tem orary, ying relatively ow wa es

or'low skilled labour. (11 I

As a result, more and more , ‘ . Native People are; compelled. to, .- .~_,* give up their ilandvbase ‘economy‘ . . ‘ .- and move into the urban centres ’ ' where alcoholism and welfarism

have become prevalent for many.

While compensation may be offered,

money can hardly replace ‘

the loss of land A , and what it means ""

to the lives ofthe Native People

and their future economic development.

A sense of justice,

coming from the living‘God, tells us there are better ways of developin the resources of the Cana ian North. ' The Lord of Creation

has given mankind

the res nsibility . _

to deve op the resources

of Nature ' ‘ - so as to make possible

a fuller human life forall peoples. ‘(12 , This coinCides wi the beliefs who have traditionally

called for ' g I a “_communal sharing" of the land which belongs to the Creator.

18. To develop the resources

IV

1)" the I fiuNorth - ‘ “a _:‘,r,>.. x tobe ain'er bug .

'thisres . ,

3m. Jam. » ‘ a eir - . himhgr'ih'" '~' 0 one an . , j'...Wea;oawch£fii"”';_"_' 'z‘m-zi m um!"- u‘j’i 33:53 win-m Bilill‘amfluflfiofl

'1’. 7;, '

M" 'W ;" - w fife’uosqa'hhnw ad: to

E I," J i‘r' mods omuasmo ift-d‘ur mm 131.9?” adjgn . P . ‘ mg» Jamar; lgufifo

is subordinated earths my)“, fl, m. ’ am It: ' > v.

profit-oriented priorities . in, _

of the American multinationals; ‘

. . . the Native People are saying

we must haves large ’ . . ,v

degree of control over ’ " ’ air

on; own economic development.

Without control ‘ ,

age will end up ' w

like our brothers arid sisters '

on the reserves in the South:

continually werless

_ t reatened . a Iv ’

and unpoverighed.”(13 ‘