Leaders of the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations are warning that the B.C. provincial government will face a billion dollar lawsuit over treaty violations if it decides to go ahead with the controversial Site C dam.

Chief Roland Willson of West Moberly First Nation said in an interview with DeSmog Canada that the government must factor in a hefty legal settlement when it is looking at the cost of continuing the dam construction, as he says there is no doubt that proceeding with the $9 billion dam would violate the 1899 Treaty 8 agreement.

“We are hoping that (the government) has enough information in front of them right now that Site C will not go forward,” Willson said.

“If they approve it we will file.”

Under Treaty 8, the government of Canada promised to guarantee the rights of local First Nations to hunt, trap, fish and continue their traditional way of life on their land.

The B.C. Utilities Commission report noted that although Treaty 8 First Nations unsuccessfully brought a legal challenge concerning the project's infringement of constitutionally protected treaty rights, the option remains for the nations to file a civil case for damages caused by Site C.

“The courts have addressed administrative law issues including the Crown’s duty to consult but have not addressed whether the Crown, by approving Site C has unjustifiably infringed the Treaty 8 rights," the BCUC panel wrote in its report. "West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations submit that the Crown bears the risk that in the event a lawsuit is commenced, the court will find in favour of Treaty 8 First Nations.”

The BCUC panel also found that B.C. does not need new power for 23 years and, if the province does need the power two decades for now, it could come from the Canadian entitlement under the Columbia River Treaty for a fraction of the cost, so that means there is no overriding reason for violating the First Nation’s treaty, Willson said.

There is also a portfolio of alternatives such as geothermal and conservation that could provide equivalent power, at the same cost without flooding the river valley, said Tim Thielmann of Sage Legal, the law firm representing the two First Nations.

According to court cases, such as the precedent-setting Tsilhqot’in ruling, the province cannot infringe treaty rights without a “substantial and compelling objective.”

“So we don’t see how they can meet the first step in the legal test set out by the Supreme Court of Canada for justifying the project,” Thielmann said.

“There is no substantial and compelling reason for them to build it, so the only reason would be political…The idea of building the most impactful project in Canadian history when there isn’t a need for the power and there are other alternatives, is about as textbook example of failing to meet that test as you could ever imagine,” he said.

The province needs to acknowledge that a treaty lawsuit could mean a soaring price-tag for the dam, Willson said.

“The leading energy expert Robert McCullough estimates that cancelling the dam would save British Columbians about $4-billion. You can make that $5-billion because, if the NDP approves this boondoggle, they’ll force us to seek damages for infringement of our treaty,” he said.

ICYMI: Site C Dam Over Budget, Behind Schedule and Could be Replaced by Alternatives

Previously, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed a lawsuit opposing the dam by the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations, but did not answer the question of whether treaty rights were violated, and Thielmann says the case has since been strengthened by the BCUC report.

When First Nations representatives met with Energy and Mines Minister Michelle Mungall and Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister Scott Fraser in Fort St. John last week they warned that in 1975, when the Quebec government tried to build the James Bay Project without First Nations approval, the Cree and Inuit of Northern Quebec were awarded a $225-million settlement.

Given inflation, the value of that today would be about $988 million, according to the Bank of Canada’s inflation figures.

ICYMI: First Nations Chief Hopeful For Stop to Site C, More Balanced Approach to Resource Extraction

The BCUC report also found Site C is over budget and behind schedule. Chief Lynette Tsakoza said in a news release that flooding the land for no useful purpose would violate at least four articles of the United Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which the NDP government has pledged to uphold.

“What UNDRIP requires is free, prior and informed consent,” Tsakoza said.

“Every First Nation opposed this dam when it was first proposed. But if ‘yes’ is the only answer the government will accept, how free is that consent?”

The dam is supported by the McLeod Lake Indian Band, who reached an economic agreement with BC Hydro, but, in addition to West Moberly and Prophet River, the dam is opposed by Dene leaders in the Northwest Territories and the Mikisew Cree of Alberta.

The province has said a decision will be made by the end of the year whether to continue with the project, which was started under the previous Liberal government, or to cancel it and reclaim the land.

Mungall, in an emailed statement answering questions from DeSmog Canada, said “the provincial government will make a decision on Site C that works for families, First Nations, businesses and the sustainability of our environment and economy.”

The meeting last week with Treaty 8 members was part of that commitment, she said.

“We attended meetings to listen and to discuss issues as they relate to Site C,” Mungall said.

“The Treaty 8 meetings were only part of our work to evaluate a very difficult decision that needs to be made.”

ICYMI: NDP Union Heavyweights Come Out Fighting for Site C

But Willson is suspicious that politics and pressure from unions are influencing the NDP government and pushing them towards completing the dam.

Wednesday Premier John Horgan told reporters government is still collecting information about Site C and has yet to make a final decision.

“We’ve heard from people who say the utilities commission work was exemplary, and we’re heard from people who say the utilities commission work was deficient in a number of areas,” he said. “So we have asked for more information.”

The government will hear further commentary on Site C and the BCUC report from a panel of invited experts, including Robert McCullough, Nov. 30.

Willson and Tsakoza have invited Horgan to a feast with community members so he can hear their concerns first-hand and, although Horgan has not yet responded, he has acknowledged the invitation, Willson said.

“I think it is very unlikely he will come, but, if not, we will go to them,” Willson said.

“We know they have a difficult decision, but, sometimes, being a leader is not about doing what makes you popular, it’s about doing the right thing — and the right thing is to cancel this bad project.”

Image: West Moberly Chief Roland Willson at the 2016 Paddle for the Peace. Photo: Jayce Hawkins

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The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal brought by the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations that argues the federal government failed to consider their constitutionally protected treaty rights when approving the $9 billion Site C dam in northeast B.C.

The rejection by Canada’s highest court has members of Treaty 8 First Nations wondering who bears the responsibility for determining whether or not a major project like Site C infringes on their rights as a treaty nation.

“This is very sad news,” Roland Willson, Chief of the West Moberly, told Desmog Canada.

“We have a treaty that is a part of the Constitution of Canada and there is no legal mechanism to protect the constitution, that piece of the constitution,” he said.

“Every other part of the Constitution they won’t tread on except the part that’s got to do with Indians — they’ll walk all over that.”

Image: Chief Roland Willson at the 2016 Paddle for the Peace. Photo: Carol Linnitt | DeSmog Canada

Infringement of Treaty Rights Not Adequately Considered

Caleb Behn, a former lawyer whose mother belongs to the West Moberly, said the decision has disturbing implications for the promise of reconciliation between the government of Canada and indigenous peoples.

“For the Supreme Court to think this appeal wasn’t even worth hearing confirms to me what my loyalty and that of my grandfather is worth to the Crown,” he said.

Under Treaty 8, the government of Canada promised to guarantee the rights of local First Nations to hunt, trap, fish and continue their traditional way of life on their land.

The West Moberly and Prophet River nations filed a judicial review of Site C in November 2014, saying the federal government failed to determine if the project, which will flood 107 kilometres of Peace River valley, violates those treaty rights.

In January 2017 a federal court ruled the government wasn’t obligated to make that determination, a ruling that puzzled legal experts.

The Supreme Court has now refused to hear the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations’ appeal of that ruling.

“I’m a Treaty 8 person with a law degree, so I never allowed myself to get truly hopeful, because I’m too familiar with what the law really does to indigenous people, people of colour,” Behn told DeSmog Canada.

“This decision desecrates in my view something much more important that just the decision of the governor in council; this is how little regard sacred treaty, sacred balance, sacred law and natural law are worth in the 21st century,” he said.

A federally appointed Joint Review Panel found Site C would likely cause significant adverse effects on fishing, hunting and trapping in Treaty 8 territory.

The panel — which was instructed not to make a judgment if Site C infringed on treaty rights — found the negative impact of the dam could not be mitigated.

In May of 2016 a group of 250 prominent Canadian academics asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to halt construction of Site C so impacts on indigenous peoples could be properly considered.

Image: Site C construction. Photo: Garth Lenz | DeSmog Canada

Civil Suit Can Address Site C Damages After the Fact

Chris Tollefson, executive director of the Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation, previously told DeSmog Canada the two nations can file a civil case to determine if treaty rights have been infringed.

“If that is the only remedy, that that is not a very efficient or effective remedy,” he said.

“Whose responsibility is it to ensure decision are not made that irrevocably harm constitutionally protected rights?”

Chief Willson said a civil suit may be the only option to determine whether Treaty 8 is violated by Site C. The dam reservoir will flood sacred graves and spiritual sites as well as prized habitat

“There is no mechanism to protect the treaty. All we can do is file for damages now,” Willson said.

“This is the insanity of this whole thing: you can’t file a civil claim until there are damages. We have to sit here and wait until they destroy the valley and then file.”

“So they can approve every hair-brained project that comes up now and they only thing we can do is sue for damages,” Willson said.

“What’s the point of a consultation process?”

Tollefson said relying on a civil suit is a losing battle as long as Site C construction continues.

“You wonder whether that task has been assigned to any arm or branch of government or whether in the end all that is left is for this nation to undertake is a very complicated and lengthy proceeding to pursue that argument — which, without an injunction, will be a futile quest.”

Behn added the legal system plays off the disadvantage of indigenous peoples whose rights have long been undermined through Canada’s colonial past.

“We have to suck it up, wait for damage, and re-enter the fray in the same process that has proven itself to be incapable of providing justice for indigenous people.”

New B.C. Government a Final ‘Hail Mary’ for Fight Against Site C

The promise of a new government in B.C. is Chief Willson’s last hope to stop Site C, he said.

The NDP and Green parties have agreed to work together to topple the B.C. Liberal-led government and send Site C for immediate review with the B.C. Utilities Commission, a process the Liberals vetoed.

“That’s our hail Mary,” Willson said.

“We’re all sitting here praying there’s a vote of non-confidence and it will hit the pause button on Site C and stop what’s going on in Bear Flats,” he said.

“That’s the tragedy of this whole thing, the B.C. government is destroying our valley for a completely unnecessary project.”

NDP Party Leader John Horgan formally introduced a motion of non-confidence in the house, Wednesday and the outcome of that motion, whether a new NDP-led government or a re-election, is expect to be known by Friday.

Update July 4, 2017: The headline of this piece previously stated the case had been 'struck down' by the Supreme Court of Canada. It has been updated to more accurately reflect the legal situation.

Image: Valeen Jules at the 2016 Paddle for the Peace. Photo: Jayce Hawkins| DeSmog Canada

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Justin Trudeau and his cabinet must uphold their promise to respect First Nations rights when it comes to federal decision-making for the Site C dam, federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May told DeSmog Canada while visiting a portion of the Peace River that will be flooded should the $9-billion project proceed.

“To me this project represents the litmus test for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his entire cabinet in their central commitment to establish a nation to nation relationship built on respect for Canada’s Fist Nations,” May said during an interview for a new DeSmog Canada Site C video.

May and DeSmog Canada were in the Peace Valley for the annual Paddle for the Peace where hundreds of people representing local landowners, First Nations, and environmental organizations voiced their opposition to the Site C dam.

“I’ve been working to stop Site C for a long time,” May said. “I've been trying the best I can to make sure every member of Parliament understands we can't give any more permits out without violating relations with First Nations.”

Chief Roland Willson from the West Moberly First Nations said the project violates the rights of Treaty 8 First Nations.

“The Site C dam impacts us by destroying the last functional 80 kilometres of the Peace River valley that we have left,” he said.

“We’re fighting Site C in the courts because it’s the right thing to do,” Willson said, adding that under Treaty 8 his nation has the right to hunt, fish and gather medicines on their traditional territory in perpetuity.

“B.C. is ignoring — and Canada is ignoring — its obligation to the treaty.”

The West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations are fighting the Site C dam in both B.C. and federal courts.

Over 250 academics, several of Canada’s most prominent environmental organizations and human rights group Amnesty International have criticized the B.C. government’s decision to forge ahead with Site C construction despite the pending legal challenges.

"As a new Liberal government they made promises to science-based evidence-based decision making, to respect for First Nations,” May said. "If they take any of those commitments seriously they can’t issue a single additional permit." 

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The B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNRO) granted BC Hydro several exemptions from the B.C. Wildlife Act to keep Site C dam construction from falling behind expected timelines, DeSmog Canada has learned.

The exemptions have some local First Nations and legal experts concerned Premier Christy Clark’s promise to “push the project past the point of no return” is occurring at the cost of B.C.’s own permitting rules and wildlife management.

“BC Hydro has gone rogue,” Chief Roland Willson of the West Moberly First Nation told DeSmog Canada. “Worse yet, the province is aware of the situation and chooses to look the other way. What’s the point of having a regulator if it refuses to regulate?”

E-mail correspondence obtained by DeSmog Canada show BC Hydro requested last-minute permission from the Ministry of Forests to undertake “emergency amphibian salvage” along the banks of the Peace River. The ministry granted BC Hydro several exemptions from the Wildlife Act to conduct the work — something legal experts say is against the law.

“The Wildlife Act and its regulations do not allow for exemptions from the ordinary permitting process,” Jocelyn Stacey, assistant professor at the UBC Allard School of Law and expert in environmental and administrative law, told DeSmog Canada. “This means that FLNRO acted without legal authority when it issued the exemption to BC Hydro.”

Ignoring B.C.’s established permitting process “raises the specific concern that BC Hydro is carrying out its Site C dam construction operations without the oversight by public officials that should be guaranteed by the ordinary permitting process,” Stacey added.

On May 13, BC Hydro sought permission to capture and relocate amphibian species including Boreal chorus frogs, Columbia spotted frogs, long-toed salamanders, wood frogs and western toads, all of which are protected under the B.C. Wildlife Act. 

Province Acting “With Impunity” in Granting Exemptions

BC Hydro proposed to begin the salvage work on May 17, only four days after permission was requested. In a letter addressed to Chris Addison, director of resource development with the Ministry of Forests, BC Hydro noted a preliminary field visit to the capture sites was conducted on May 12 — just one day before the request was submitted.

BC Hydro also noted that delaying permission to perform amphibian salvage — which the crown corporation claimed was crucial to the creation of three dikes along the south bank of the Peace River side channel — “risks significant schedule delays.”

In an e-mail dated May 25, FLNRO official Golnoush Hassanpour notified members of the Prophet River and West Moberly First Nations that several exemptions to the Wildlife Act were granted to BC Hydro. In a follow-up e-mail, Addison noted there is no provision in the Wildlife Act to grant such exemptions.

“There is no provision in the Wildlife Act for this specifically,” Addison wrote in the e-mail. “Rather it is an administrative law principle that functionally amounts to inducing error.”

UBC’s Stacey said the acknowledged lack of legal authority to grant such exemptions is troubling.

“I am most troubled…by the fact that the FLNRO official admitted he did not have the legal authority to issue such an exemption and suggested that he acted with impunity in doing so,” Stacey told DeSmog Canada.

“This kind of action goes against our most fundamental understanding of the rule of law: that public officials act according to law, and not based on their personal opinions or what they view as expedient under the circumstances.”

Stacey said this instance raises a much broader concern that unauthorized “exemptions” may be issued routinely, but added that because of a “general lack of transparency with the permitting process, the public is not aware that this is happening and cannot seek recourse from the courts in the form of judicial review.”

The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations did not provide comment by time of publication.

BC Hydro: Site C “Construction Schedule At Risk”

The management of amphibian species falls under the auspice of the Wildlife Act and while BC Hydro submitted an application for an official salvage permit to the ministry in September 2015, it didn’t expect a permit to be issued until mid to late June 2016.

In its request letter, BC Hydro stated, “The salvage works cannot wait until the permit is issued; as noted, the delay in construction of the dikes puts the main civil works construction schedule at risk.”

Chief Lynette Tsakoza of the Prophet River First Nation said the province’s willingness to exempt BC Hydro from the rules is part of a “pattern.”

“Every other company would face charges, but not BC Hydro.”

Both the Prophet River and West Moberly First Nation are currently fighting the approval of the Site C dam in a legal challenge.

Last month, 250 top-level scientists and academics from across Canada called on the federal government to put the brakes on construction of the Site C dam — a move supported by the Royal Society of Canada.

Gordon Christie, associate professor at the UBC Allard School of Law, said the exemptions are emblematic of the province’s determination to advance the project — something that puts First Nations fighting the project in court at a disadvantage.

“What this particular episode tells you is how the province approaches things,” Christie told DeSmog Canada. “Their strategy is clearly just get this to a point where it can’t be stopped.”

Christie said the further BC Hydro gets the Site C project down the development path, the more difficult it will be for First Nations legal challenges to stand up in court.

“That’s the sickening part of all of this,” he said. “It takes so long for these kinds of challenges to get through the courts…and at the end of all that time passing you’re going to have the dam already built. That’s the strategy of the government.”

Christie added any compensation owed to Treaty 8 First Nations will be borne by the taxpayer, not the provincial government.

“They don’t lose at all,” he said. “Really it’s about the big issue: this is clearly a proposal that is being pushed through regardless of whether it’s infringing on treaty rights.”

Chief Willson said by granting BC Hydro exemptions from provincial rules like the Wildlife Act, the province is placing BC Hydro’s needs above those of First Nations and the general public.

“Forget environmental laws. Forget constitutional rights,” he said. “Forget everything that holds our society together. That’s what BC Hydro is demanding we all do.”

He added, “What infuriates me is that the province has agreed to ignore the laws and instead protect the selfish interests of BC Hydro.”

Clarence Willson, councillor with the West Moberly First Nation, told DeSmog Canada he sees these exemptions as emblematic of the government’s rush to advance the project.

“This in particular is a very good example of how our concerns seem to be pushed aside to expedite this project and we see this in all kinds of consultation we have with government,” he said.

“They’re doing everything they need to do grease the skids to move this project forward.” 

BC Hydro Letter to FLNRO Chris Addison re: Amphibian Salvage Permit Exemptions by DeSmog Canada

Image: Land is cleared along the banks of the Peace River to make way for Site C construction. Photo: Jayce Hawkins

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BC Hydro has come out swinging against the Royal Society of Canada and 250 of Canada’s top scientists and academics that recently called for a stop to construction of the Site C dam, saying the group is being one-sided.

Royal Society representatives and academics did not take part in the environmental assessment process and did not seek a balanced assessment of the hydroelectric mega-project, says an unusually critical statement released by BC Hydro.

The dam, which will cost taxpayers almost $9-billion, will flood farmland and First Nations traditional territory in the Peace Valley to create an 83-kilometre reservoir.

A Statement of Concern, released by the academics earlier this week, asks the federal government to live up to election promises to respect legal obligations to First Nations and to make decisions based on scientific integrity.

Repeated requests by DeSmog Canada for comments from Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett have been ignored but, speaking to other media, Bennett criticized the Royal Society for being political and suggested members should have taken part in the environmental assessment process.

Ken Boon, president of the Peace Valley Landowner Association, whose historic farmhouse overlooking the Peace River will be flooded by the dam, dismissed that idea.

“That’s silly,” he said pointing to the many recommendations made by the Joint Review Panel that were then ignored by the provincial government in its rush to get construction of the dam underway.

“There were steps that should have shut it down and it didn’t make any difference,” said Boon, who is happy to see the academic support. Boon, along with several other Site C opponents, is currently being sued by BC Hydro for his participation in a protest camp. Legal experts have criticized the lawsuit as a threat to freedom of expression.

“This has had incredible media coverage and rightly so when you have such a large and distinguished group speaking out on the project,” he said.

Boon does not believe the provincial government is showing any sign of listening to the criticism, but his hopes are pinned on the federal government.

“In a lot of ways the ball is in the federal government’s court right now. It’s the government’s obligation to review those permits properly and then refuse to issue them if that’s what they deem is the right thing to do,” he said.

The Royal Society and fellow academics say the federal government should not issue any more permits for the project until there have been additional reviews and the courts have ruled on four legal challenges that have not yet been heard.

In its statement BC Hydro argued it cannot stop construction to wait for court rulings as its mandate is to meet the long-term electricity needs of customers and to build Site C on time and on budget.

“Court challenges of major infrastructure projects are not uncommon in Canada and they do not stop construction from proceeding,” says the statement, which points out that, so far, four judicial reviews of the environmental appeals have been dismissed.

Chief Roland Willson of West Moberly First Nation is hoping the appeal by scientists and academics will influence the federal government.

“It is frustrating when you have the premier of B.C. saying they are just going to ride roughshod over the rights of First Nations…But we have some ability to get the federal government to pay attention because the treaty lies with them, so they are on the hook,” Willson said. The West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations are currently fighting against the Site C dam in the courts, saying the project violates treaty rights.

“If they issue permits, then we may have to file another court case for treaty infringement.”

The Wilderness Committee is among groups calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to consider the human rights and environmental impacts of the dam detailed by the academics.

“The federal government’s position is that projects like the Site C dam that were approved by the previous Conservative government will not be revisited,” said Joe Foy, Wilderness Committee national campaign director.

“This is an outrageous position and a slap in the face to those who have been demanding justice. B.C. taxpayers are being fleeced and First Nations’ and farmers’ lands are being flooded for this dam project — the government must do the right thing."

Image: Premier Christy Clark and Minister Bill Bennett/Flickr

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At a 2012 Paddle for the Peace event the new federal  Justice Minister Judy Wilson-Raybould said the destruction of the Peace Valley for the contentious Site C dam threatens Canada’s reputation on the world stage.   In a video recently published on the Common Sense Canadian, a site co-founded by Rafe Mair and documentary filmmaker Damien Gillis, Wilson-Raybould said Canada’s “reputation is at stake with approval of these projects like Site C, like the Enbridge pipeline.”   “Our reputation as a caring and considerate environmentally friendly nation internationally is going to be questioned,” she said. “Running roughshod over aboriginal treaty and rights, including treaty rights, is not the way to improve that reputation.”   Some Treaty 8 First Nations in B.C. are vocally opposed to the Site C dam, which will flood more than 5,000 hectares of farm land, swamp indigenous archaeological sites and permanently destroy land First Nations use for hunting, fishing and collection of traditional medicines.

Treaty 8, signed in 1899, states First Nations have the right to continue their traditional way of life, including the right to hunt, trap, fish and forage, “for as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the rivers flow.” 

Wilson-Raybould, MP for Vancouver-Granville, was celebrated last fall for being Canada’s first indigenous minister. The daughter of B.C. First Nations leader Bill Wilson, Wilson-Raybould’s professional background includes high-profile positions such as regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations.   In a public mandate letter to the minister, Trudeau emphasized the importance of repaired federal relations with Canada’s indigenous peoples:   “No relationship is more important to me and to Canada than the one with Indigenous Peoples,” the Prime Minister stated. “It is time for a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous Peoples, based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership.”   Permits for Site C construction were granted under the previous federal government and, as DeSmog Canada first reported, at least 14 of those permits were quietly granted during the writ period of the last federal election.   Four court cases initiated by Treaty 8 First Nations and the Peace Valley Landowners Association are still in the courts.   Earlier this month Wilson-Raybould told a Victoria audience she sees no conflict between her past protest and her current position as minister of justice.   “Everything I do as the Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Granville and as the minister is rooted in my values and my principles, rooted in the mandate the prime minister gave me and the rule of law, and ensuring the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is dealt with,” she told reporters at a Liberal policy convention.   The minister added she was “proud” to have attended an annual Paddle for the Peace gathering with opponents of the project.   “With respect to Site C, I understand the tremendous opposition to moving forward,” she added.   When pressed on the 2012 video, Wilson-Raybould’s spokesperson Joanne Ghiz told the Globe and Mail the project was approved by the former federal government and that BC Hydro, the project proponent, must comply with legally binding conditions. Ghiz added a project appeal is currently under examination.    Chief Roland Willson of the West Moberly First Nation said letters opposing the project on treaty grounds have been sent to Trudeau’s cabinet.   “I have to believe in my heart they are seriously considering it. They have to understand the process was severely flawed,” he told DeSmog Canada in a former interview.   “They can’t talk about a new enhanced relationship and start stabbing their fingers in our eyes…There’s no doubt it’s an infringement of treaty rights,” he said.   Many had hoped the new federal government would give treaties greater weight in decisions about major resource projects.   In February, a coalition of organizations from across Canada, including Amnesty International and the David Suzuki Foundation, urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to halt construction of the Site C dam, saying the project violates Treaty 8.   “Our organizations are profoundly concerned that construction of the Site C dam is being pushed ahead despite the conclusion of a joint federal-provincial environmental assessment that it would severely and permanently undermine indigenous peoples’ use of the land; harm rare plants and other biodiversity; make fishing unsafe for at least a generation and submerge burial grounds and other crucial cultural and historical sites,” an open letter released by the coalition said.   “The people of Treaty 8 have said no to Site C. Any government that is truly committed to reconciliation with indigenous peoples, to respecting human rights and to promoting truly clean energy must listen.”

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