Willow Lake Métis Nation represents the section 35 rights of approximately 90 citizens. The nation’s administrative centre is located at Anzac, Alberta, just south of Fort McMurray.
The nation emerged during the fur trade era between the Athabasca River and the Clearwater River, in what is now Alberta, and Lac La Loche in Saskatchewan. Historically, Willow Lake was connected through kinship and economic ties to Fort Chipewyan and Lake Athabasca to the north and Lac La Biche to the south. These connections continue today.
Willow Lake Métis Nation citizens hunt, fish, trap and collect berries and medicines on the lands used by their ancestors. These lands include traplines like those of Vice-President McKenzie, which have been in his family for several generations. Harvested resources are shared to provide for families and the community, and most citizens continue to consume traditional foods and use traditional medicines.
Willow Lake Métis Nation, like other nations in the oil sands region, has experienced and continues to experience extensive impacts from oil and gas, forestry and other developments. Willow Lake Métis Nation was first notified regarding the tailings ponds leaks by Imperial Oil's Kearl Lake site by email from the Alberta Energy Regulator on February 7, 2023. We then met with AER staff on March 8, 2023, to receive an update.
Imperial Oil also contacted us by email on March 8, 2023, with a link to the company’s updates on the environmental protection order. Willow Lake Métis Nation provided a response letter to Imperial Oil on March 17, 2023, outlining the nation’s concerns and information requests. As of April 13, we have not received a response from Imperial Oil. This does not align with statements on Imperial’s website that indicate the company is engaging with affected indigenous communities.
Willow Lake Métis Nation citizens harvest in areas upstream and downstream of the Kearl site and are very concerned about the impacts of the leaks on water and other aquatic resources, plants and wildlife. Willow Lake Métis Nation continues to be connected to other nations in this region and engages in sharing harvesting activities and the sharing of traditional foods and medicines. Certainty regarding the safety of traditionally harvested foods is critical to supporting land use, the sharing of harvested resources and the continuation of rights and culture.
Ongoing clarification and updates regarding the impacts of these spills on the environment and harvested plant and animal resources are required to support future land use. The leaks and the delayed notifications are deeply concerning to Willow Lake Métis Nation. Willow Lake Métis Nation is in a very vulnerable position right now, as we are waiting for recognition of the nation’s section 35 rights through Alberta’s credible assertion process, and experiences inconsistent consultation from government and industry.
The leaks highlight the risk for any indigenous nation that these incidents can go unreported, but this risk is especially high for nations in Willow Lake’s position. It is apparent that Imperial Oil and the AER shared the responsibility for communicating these incidents much sooner. While we appreciate that the AER contacted the nation, met with us in March and continues to update us, this incident has affected the nation's ability to trust both industry and the AER.
Willow Lake Métis Nation is interested in meaningful solutions that will re-establish that trust through co-operation, comanagement and most importantly co-reclamation to ensure truly sustainable oil sands operations. Willow Lake Métis Nation desires to find ways to address the gaps highlighted by these incidents. Immediate solutions include discussions with Imperial to ensure nation involvement in incident response and monitoring, as well as further discussions with the AER to ensure that Willow Lake receives timely notification regarding incidents within the nation’s territory.
Willow Lake also recommends a human health assessment to ensure there is no risk from the leaks to traditionally harvested resources, including water, plants and animals. More broadly, these incidents have emphasized cumulative impacts to indigenous rights in the oil sands region. A deeper understanding of those impacts needs to be achieved through a regional assessment of the oil sands, including cumulative impacts and impacts to section 35 rights.
On behalf of Willow Lake Métis Nation and its citizens, I would like to thank you for your time and consideration of our concerns. We sincerely appreciate the invitation to be here today.