One would have thought democratic governments have a duty to look after the interests of all their citizens, even First Nations. Canada’s current Prime Minister initially promised the indigenous population a new deal. Justin Trudeau is quick to offer bail outs to oil corporations like Kinder Morgan, but the Feds neglected determining whether Site C violates Treaty 8.
Premier John Horgan blamed the former Liberal Government last month, “They got to the point of no return … It wasn’t about public policy, it wasn’t about energy policy, it wasn’t about the best interests of British Columbians, it was about getting a project past the point of no return.” He approved the Site C Dam project anyway. In so doing, he joined the Canadian Government in sidestepping what may turn out to be the most crucial point in this debate. Should the BC & Canadian governments honour treaties?