Mailing address:
3536 - 106 Street
Edmonton, AB T6J 1A4
403-436-5652
FAX: 403-437-0719
March 5, 1991
Enclosed for your information is a letter to Canadian Prime
Minister Brian Mulroney regarding the continuing Lubicon tragedy.
* * * * *
PROJECT NORTH B.C.
(Aboriginal Rights Coalition)
an ecumenical coalition for aboriginal justice
4217 Granville Avenue, R.R. #3, Victoria, B.C. V8X 3X1
Telephone: (604) 479-6866
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February 23, 1991
Right Honourable Brian Mulroney
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A OA6
Sir,
Members of this organization are outraged and heartsick that the
Government of Canada continues to ignore what is now known as
"the Lubicon Tragedy".
In the autumn of 1983, the World Council of Churches declared, in
a letter to then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, that "genocidal
consequences" threatened the Lubicon Lake Band at Little Buffalo
in northern Alberta. The following spring, leaders of several
national mainline churches visited the Lubicon, confirmed the WCC
statement, and called on the government to take immediate action.
Now, eight years later, the genocide is well underway. The
Government of Canada chooses to ignore it or blame it on the
Lubicon.
Before it was realized that there was a massive amount of oil
under Lubicon land, or that trees growing there were worth money
when converted to pulp, the Lubicon and their request for a
reserve were ignored for 48 years. Further, they were not part
of Treaty 8 negotiations, so that title to their land remains
with them.
Now, ignoring that title, oil companies have invaded the lands
and operate 400 wells within a 15-mile radius of Little Buffalo.
As well, the forest is being clear-cut at an alarming rate. The
once viable economy of the Lubicon is in ruin, and they are in a
desperate situation.
IT IS IMMORAL OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA TO ALLOW THIS SITUATION
TO CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE. THE END RESULT WILL BE THE
DESTRUCTION OF A PEOPLE.
Our organization, along with others through Canada and the world,
has followed closely the chronology of events since the World
Council of Churches sent their letter in 1983. We know that the
Government of Canada refuses to negotiate further a settlement
which the Lubicon feel is fair to them. We are aware of the
millions of dollars that are extracted from their lands every day
of the year in terms of oil and timber. We are aware of the $10
million grant given to Daishowa by the Government of Canada and
the $65 million grant from Alberta. We are aware that the Gulf
War is costing Canadians somewhere in the neighborhood of $90
million per month.
In the fact of all this, while the government refuses to
negotiate a just settlement, it allows the situation of the
Lubicon to worsen into tragedy. It is somehow ironic that, at
the same time, you ask us as Canadians to tell Keith Spicer's
Commission what kind of country we want to see in the future.
How can we take that seriously?
Prime Minister, we call upon you to give this matter your
immediate attention. No one can give credibility to your
lectures about racism in South Africa, your anxiety over the
Baltic States and Russia, or your concerns about the invasion and
takeover of Kuwait's land and resources by Iraq, while the land
of defenceless First Canadians is invaded and plundered by
foreign interests with assistance of our own government.
We ask that you respond to this letter rather than passing it
along to your Minister of Indian Affairs. That department does
not act on behalf of aboriginal people, as one would suppose, but
in the opposite role. In the final analysis, you are
responsible, and this matter is too grave and too urgent for the
usual rhetorical reply. Thank you.
Yours very truly,
Mavis Gillie
for PROJECT NORTH (B.C.)
cc: Lubicon Lake Nation
Premier Don Getty
Project North Victoria & Vancouver
Aboriginal Rights Coalition, Ottawa
Edmonton Interchurch Committee on the North
Jean Chretien, House of Commons
Audrey McLaughlin, House of Commons
Bob Skelly, House of Commons