Good afternoon, Chair and members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.
It's an honour to be here on the territory of the Mi'kmaq peoples, my people, to speak to you concerning the national conservation plan.
I'm a Mi'kmaq woman. I am also an Indian Act registered Indian with status to an Indian Act band here in Nova Scotia. I am the National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, also called CAP, which is one of Canada's five national aboriginal organizations.
For 41 years we have represented the rights and interests of off-reserve non-status and status Indians, and Métis aboriginal peoples living in rural, urban, remote, and isolated areas throughout Canada.
The congress applauds this bold initiative to produce a national conservation plan and wishes to see it become a national priority. We are very supportive of this important plan and wish to be engaged every step of the way.
Preserving our biodiversity is not going to be a simple task. Canada's Aichi commitment to protect 17% of our lands and 10% of our water by 2020 demonstrates a very big challenge.
In my remarks to you today I propose to respond with some early high-level thoughts directed to the six questions that the chair has posed.
I will start with the purpose of the national conservation plan, which I will call the NCP. The congress supports the idea of developing an NCP that builds on existing successes and that reflects long-term thinking. We are supportive of developing and employing innovative approaches to conservation for terrestrial, marine, and freshwater components. Promoting conservation and awareness of natural species and the species that underpin the environment, human health, and the economy reflect an aboriginal approach to the environment.
Aboriginal peoples have successfully lived with Mother Earth since the beginning of time. Mother Earth and all the creatures on her represent our history, our culture, and our identity as peoples. A sacred trust relationship exists especially between aboriginal peoples and Mother Earth.
Aboriginal peoples are peoples of the land, as are you. Many of us still live off the land and its resources and are the stewards of biological and cultural diversity. Our rights, cultures, livelihoods, traditional knowledge, and identities are based on a deep relationship with land, waters, and resources.
The great promise of the industrial age was progress without limit and without end. The aboriginal sacred trust relationship with the environment stands in sharp contrast to this philosophy. We believe that the welfare of future generations should not be jeopardized by the actions of today's generation. We believe it's appropriate to think seven generations ahead and consider whether the decisions we are going to make today would benefit our children seven generations into the future.
Many wise people have commented on the human inability to be mindful of the long-range consequences of our actions. Some people believe that change is now running out of control and fear the risks involved with new industrial technologies. I don't. I think we can all agree that when it comes to the NCP, it will be up to this generation to shape it, share it, and then look after it.
From our positive point of view, the NCP can be a landmark in the conservation of Canada's biodiversity and sustainable use of biological resources.
What should the goals of the NCP be? Broadly speaking, the congress views the NCP as requiring bold and action-orientated goals to protect, connect, restore, and engage. The congress would like to recommend the following: protect and conserve Canada's biodiversity and ecosystems; connect a network of large marine, freshwater, and terrestrial protected areas; restore degraded ecosystems and recover habitat for endangered species; and engage and educate Canadians concerning the benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services.
The guiding principles should set out that aboriginal peoples wish to work cooperatively with the Government of Canada, as well as with the provinces and territories, to develop and implement the NCP. CAP and our affiliate organizations wish to work cooperatively with federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions to achieve the NCP goals. As a matter of fact, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples has worked with the Department of the Environment over the last ten years and with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to form management boards, to form SARA, and on the NACOSAR boards.
The congress would like to recommend two guiding principles. The first would set out that aboriginal peoples would play an essential role in carrying out the goals and objectives of the plan. The second would reference the traditional knowledge of aboriginal peoples and that it must be considered in the development and implementation of the NCP.
What conservation priorities should be included in an NCP? For aboriginal peoples, climate change brings a real threat to our cultural survival and undermines our aboriginal rights and interests. Climate change and the associated effects of ecosystem changes have profound implications for the development and implementation of the NCP. One of the cornerstones of the NCP should be consideration of species at risk. The human race has exterminated species at an alarming rate, and in Canada the number of endangered species grows each day. Currently there are 640 species that are at risk, and the list will keep on growing.
Loss of diversity is considered one of the world's most serious environmental problems. The NCP needs to address this as a conservation priority. A second conservation priority requires the inclusion of invasive alien species, which have significant environmental, economic, societal, and trade impacts on Canada. Invasive species pose a threat to many of the medical plants used by aboriginal peoples. The protection of Canada's aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems from the risk of invasive alien species must be addressed through the NCP.
There are significant challenges ahead in the implementation of the NCP, and most of these will evolve during the years ahead. We would see the priorities include halting the loss of biodiversity and building ecosystems' resilience; educating Canadians concerning biodiversity; undertaking effective monitoring and reporting, including progress on the NCP; mitigating climate change; and establishing and managing a comprehensive network of protected areas, both terrestrial and aquatic.
The congress is seeking five specific implementation priorities for aboriginal peoples: that full and effective participation of all aboriginal peoples take place in conception, design, and implementation of the NCP; that the NCP ensure aboriginal traditional knowledge is an integral part of the conservation actions; that the federal, provincial, and territorial governments support the participation of aboriginal peoples in the implementation of the NCP; that the NCP be in full conformity with and promote the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Convention on Biological Diversity and all other treaty and land claims agreements that are currently in place; and that the federal government support aboriginal participation in the monitoring of habitat change and conservation impacts.
What consultation process should the minister consider when developing the NCP? What I'm about to say is nothing new. He's heard this over and over. Every decision taken by the crown affecting or impacting aboriginal peoples or our interests is a matter that is consistent with the duty to consult. The crown's obligation to fulfill this duty is grounded in the honour of the crown and the protection of aboriginal rights and interests in the Constitution. The crown's duty to consult and to accommodate our interests is firmly rooted in national and international law. It's important in the implementation of the NCP that CAP and Environment Canada develop innovative approaches that take into account the unique circumstances of status and non-status Indians living off reserve and the Métis.
Consultation will require ongoing dialogue, and accommodation will mean balancing aboriginal rights and interests with those of government and non-aboriginal interests. The constitutional duty to consult with aboriginal people is an obligation intended to promote negotiation and relationships rather than your judicial dispute resolution. We support Chief Justice McLachlin’s view that “negotiation is a preferable way of reconciling state and Aboriginal interests”. We believe that there is a middle ground in all of the discussions that are going on, that there do not have to be paralyzed, polar positions.
I would conclude with some parting thoughts as you undertake your work. What about the seventh generation? What are we going to create for them? What will they have? When I talk about the seventh generation, I'm not talking about only aboriginal children or the aboriginal seven generations. I'm talking about all our grandchildren and grandchildren yet unborn.
[Witness speaks in Mi'kmaq]
Thank you.