Good afternoon. I was very happy to listen to Minister Aglukkaq speak to the bill. My colleague, Rocky Norwegian, Senior, and I have had the opportunity to be a part of this process since the onset of the work to begin the establishment of this park when the Government of Canada itself had requested the expansion of the Nahanni headwaters.
Minister, committee Chair, and members, both MPs and senators, I would like you to know that as the former member of Parliament for this area for 18 years, I'm extremely proud to have been part of this process. It shows you there is life after politics for one, and that good things can be done in partnership.
My name is Ethel Blondin-Andrew. I am the chairperson for Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated. I'm serving my second term representing the 3,500 Sahtu Dene and Métis land claim beneficiaries.
On behalf of the SSI, I was involved in the initial planning and establishment of the Nááts’ihch’oh national park reserve of Canada. I am pleased to make these comments to you on behalf of the SSI. I no longer sit on the board or have any direct contact with the daily work to ensure that the benefits agreement is actually implemented. However, I'm sure like everybody else who was involved we keep a leery eye out and watch what's happening on a grander scale.
I'm pleased to make these comments to you because there is a high level of interest in what's happening here.
The area of the park has great cultural significance to the Sahtu Dene and Métis, and in particular the Mountain Dene. This area has a special spiritual significance to the Mountain Dene who have lived and used these lands and resources since time immemorial. Our people have always recognized that these lands within the national park hold special powers, meaning we've carried those messages in our oral tradition as our languages are spoken not written.
The Mountain Dene traditionally travelled throughout the area of the park visiting among the various tribal groups. Our grandparents and parents took their children to this area in order to teach them about culture and the stories of the land. This experience formed an important part of our identity, culture, and beliefs. This is where we learned to be self-sufficient, and to be good hunters, workers, and providers.
Our people would usually go up the Keele River which goes into the national park. They would walk into the mountains to the headwaters such as the Nááts’ihch’oh area and O'Grady Lake, which is known as Túoch'ee Tuwé, to live throughout the winter and hunt moose. The following spring and summer they would return by the Keele River to the Mackenzie River in big moose-skin boats filled with freshly harvested moose meat and other goods.
Today the Mountain Dene still use this area for traditional purposes. We continue to use it for spiritual purposes and to hunt moose, sheep, and caribou. Occasionally and more than occasionally I've seen my colleague, Mr. Norwegian, and myself up in the Caribou Flats area doing what has been carried on for thousands of years by our ancestors, harvesting food in the fall.
The Sahtu Dene and Métis support the establishment of the park. We maintain that any park in the settlement area must be created and managed in partnership with the Sahtu Dene and Métis and based on our cultural traditions, spiritual values, and economic aspirations.
I can say we were involved in the identification of the boundaries of the park and the establishment of its co-management board. The co-management board will oversee the operation of the park. This is significant because we do not see the park operating as those parks located in southern Canada. Our role on the co-management board will ensure we are involved in decisions relating to the management of the park and ensure that operation of this park will be consistent with our values and traditions.
I must say that this is consistent with the basic tenets of the land claims agreement, which is a document that really promotes co-management. We took a practical and balanced approach with respect to the planning and establishment of the park and its management. We wanted a park to protect the land. We wanted to ensure that our people are able to continue to hunt and trap within this area and use the lands and resources of this area for traditional purposes if they choose to do so. But we also see potential economic development opportunities in this area, including mine development.
The western part of the park is rich in minerals, including the Selwyn lead-zinc deposit which is considered to be one of the biggest deposits in the world. I point out that the Sahtu Dene and Métis have a partnership agreement with the proponent of Selwyn with respect to this deposit. We have a cooperative agreement that's actually being reinvigorated and revisited. I was at a meeting with Selwyn just two or three days ago in which they cited that when they build the road near the park, much of which is in the Sahtu area, they would like to do it to industrial level and that the Government of Canada looked favourably upon their aspirations to do that in concert with the Sahtu Dene and Métis and that they wanted us to support that.
My read of this is that I hear from my colleague Mr. Norwegian that we support that because it will provide economic benefits to our people. The Sahtu Dene have an interest in developing an ecotourism lodge that is connected to the park as well. We wanted to ensure that the park did not adversely impact economic development opportunities. For instance, we agreed that the Lened and Selwyn mining claims and leases should be excluded from the park.
There were compromises made, and there were practical approaches taken. A key component of the establishment of the park was the negotiation of an impact and benefit agreement. Mr. Norwegian spoke to this, so I won't bother going into details. The IBA among Sahtu land corporations, two renewable resource councils in the Tulita district, and the Government of Canada establishes infrastructure in Tulita that is intended to be the gateway to the park. There must be a federal commitment to hire new positions relating to the operation and management of the park as committed to in the IBA. There must be a commitment to provide funds for local capacity building and that hiring practices and approaches maximize local benefits in particular to ensure that the Sahtu Dene and Métis benefit from employment and other economic opportunities relating to the park.
Parks Canada has made significant commitments to the Sahtu Dene and Métis in the IBA. We must work together in collaboration if these commitments are to be realized. The Government of Canada is very familiar with this park. It started out with Minister John Baird, and then went on to Minister Kent, and now we have Minister Aglukkaq.
The Prime Minister himself has actually been to Nááts’ihch’oh along with Mrs. Harper on a trip with our legal adviser and our political adviser, Rick Hardy, who took a pre-eminent role in helping to establish this park. I think some of that credit should go to the work Rick has done as well as all of the board members and the elders. It was a work in progress and it was an awesome experience to share this with the Prime Minister of our country, and to show that when people want to there can be cooperation and that things can happen positively.
We look forward to working with the Government of Canada to manage the area of the park in a balanced approach and capitalize on the benefits arising from the Nááts’ihch’oh park.
