As far as my band is concerned, we have never called for a moratorium on projects. All along, the elders have said that if it is sustainable, then we will support it. That's why we go through the EIA process. We approve. We make the recommendation to the chief and council to approve a project.
Having said that, when we look at the air pollution that we're getting through the air emissions, and the water and the lack of water.... The Alberta government right now says that river can sustain fish, but the first nations are saying no. The river is so low this year that they shouldn't be producing as much through the winter months. But we didn't get that. Nobody gets that recommendation. But this is what has to be looked at. You have to look at how much water is there in the river. You have to tell the Alberta government, “All right, it's your land. You say it's yours. You own the resources and the water and the fish and everything. You have to manage those things a lot better than you're managing them right now.”
First nations have always been stewards of land. For thousands of years we did not leave a footprint. But that's what you see around Fort McMurray today. Before that gets cleaned up, I am the person who has to live with it in the future. I have grandchildren and great-grandchildren who will have to live the way I did. When we look at that, we can honestly say we do not mind seeing a delay in projects here, until a lot of our questions are answered on the sustainability of our environment and where our young people are going with all this fast-paced development.