The "Aboriginal" Question

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Indian-And-Northern-Affairs-Canada-1008106.html

A common argument I've heard from some Alaskans when they express skepticism about the Alaska Highway Gas Line project is that Canadian aboriginal groups will stall construction with land claim issues. Given the interminable process that's been dragging out in the Mackenzie Delta with the Joint Review Panel there, I guess that's understandable.

Things are somewhat different in the Yukon, though. I do have to note that I am not First Nations myself, and I'm not privy to any discussion that's going on right now, but from the issues I've been following I see some significant differences between "here" and "there".

First, Yukon First Nations have generally been more engaged politically and economically than their counterparts in the NWT. Their involvement in economic development extends back even before the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush. Many FN families didn't merely benefit from the Gold Rush economy, they prospered from it. And--generally speaking--most Yukon FN groups have been supportive of responsible development.

Second, almost all identified First Nations groups in the Yukon have settled their land claims with the Canadian government. In most cases this means that there is a consultation process already in place (for the Mackenzie Valley Line, they essentially had to invent one from scratch). There is one significant exception, the Kaska/Dene that straddle the Yukon-British Columbia border in the Southeast Yukon; this group has served notice in the past that they expect fair treatment in discussions over the pipeline. Even so, this group has been working with the Yukon government on resource-sharing issues, and they are taking part in sidebar agreements on mining, gas exploration, and forestry on their traditional lands. Their engagement seems to be constructive.

The biggest reason that the Alaska Line won't see the same delays as the Mackenzie Line is... the Mackenzie Line itself. The strain from the delay is showing in the Delta, and in towns all along the route where businesses--in many cases aboriginal-owned businesses--have invested heavily for a project that's now years behind. The current world recession and the prospect of cheap gas elsewhere in North America has done nothing to lessen this strain.

The item I linked to here is a small but significant announcement: the federal govenment is providing funding to the aboriginal groups along the line's route so that they can afford to engage in discussions with government and pipeline proponents.