"More proof that the Environmental Review Process is a Farce" - Innu Nation
SHESHATSHIU -- "Today's announcement by the Department of National Defence
of trial training deployments to Goose Bay by the Belgian, French and
Italian air forces is further proof that the Environmental Review Process
concerning the training is a farce," said Daniel Ashini, Director of Innu
Rights and Environment for the Innu Nation. "DND's is jumping the gun on
the Process by making arrangements to permit training by these additional
air forces without even waiting for the recommendations of the
Environmental Assessment Panel."
The announcement comes on the heals of another announcement last week that
the USAF will also conduct training this year in Innu air space.
"DND's pretense that the plans for additional training are 'preliminary' is
a public relations smokescreen," said Mr. Ashini. "DND has been marketing
Goose Bay to the world's air forces for quite some time, and can't wait for
the review process to end before announcing the results of this
international sales job."
Mr. Ashini said "DND seems to have the inside track on what recommendations
the Environmental Assessment Panel is going to make. Why else would it be
willing to prejudge the outcome of the environmental review process by
entering into agreements with the Americans, Belgians, French and Italians
at this time?"
Mr. Ashini said the news of the trial deployments further justified the
decision by the Innu of Quebec and Labrador to boycott the environmental
impact hearings. "It seems like everything was decided in advance," Ashini
stated. "Had we participated in the hearings, we would have been wasting
our time, because nothing we could have said would have prevented DND from
proceeding with the expansion of the military presence in our airspace. The
Panel's recommendations, when they're released in February, will simply
bless the expansion. That's what I call a good public relations job for
DND," Ashini said.
Mr. Ashini said he is extremely depressed at the news. "After more than 10
years of hard opposition to the training, we are confronted with more not
less training. It's obvious that our culture, thousands of years of
occupation in the Quebec-Labrador peninsula, and Aboriginal rights mean
very little to the Canadian government. I don't know how we can continue to
hunt, trap, and fish inside the Low Level Training Area with all these
flights and a new bombing range. Our land is being turned into a military
wasteland and there's nothing we can do to stop it!"
The low-level flight training is concentrated in river valleys and lake
areas which are where wildlife and Innu land use are concentrated. The
overlap between the training on the one hand, and wildlife and people on
the other, accounts for the serious problems DND has been having in
implementing an avoidance program, and why Innu people continue to
experience overflights of their camps.
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For more information: Daniel Ashini, 709-497-8698
Larry Innes internet: es051322@orion.yorku.ca (direct to me)
innu@web.apc.org (general to Innu Nation)
Environmental Advisor
Innu Nation phone: (709) 497-8398
PO Box 119 fax: (709) 497-8396
Sheshatshiu, Nitassinan (Labrador)
via Canada A0P 1M0
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