First Nations community 'last to know'
Ninety per cent of Brunswick pipeline to pass through traditional Passamaquoddy territory.
CP

It sounds like the fox is expected to tell the chicken of his intentions," said Hugh Akagi, the Chief of the Passamaquoddy First Nation in the Saint Andrews area, and that isn't his idea of justice.

Akagi is concerned about consultation problems he has perceived in energy provider Emera's efforts to build a pipeline through southwestern New Brunswick. The Nova Scotia-based company is seeking to deliver natural gas to the U.S. via the 30-inch diametre "Brunswick pipeline," 90 per cent of which will pass through traditional Passamaquoddy territory. But Akagi claims his people have been denied access to due process and left out of negotiations.

"The main problem is that no one is protecting traditional culture and heritage and their connection to this territory," Akagi said. "We are the protectors of this land, and we should be consulted when things are happening on it."

But there is a distinct problem. The traditional lands of Akagi's nation that line Passamaquoddy Bay are divided by the St. Croix river, which was 200 years ago imposed as an artificial boundary between British North America and the United States. The territory today remains divided into Washington County, Maine and Charlotte County, New Brunswick, leaving the nation with two nationalities.

Cases like this one have been addressed extensively in Canadian courts, and the regulations exist for the consultation of Native North American peoples for development proposals on traditional territory. The company applying to develop land must demonstrate through documentation that it has consulted with First Nations authorities.

In the "Report on the Consultation Process related to the Proposed Development of the Brunswick Pipeline with New Brunswick First Nations," Emera is said to have demonstrated "comprehensive consultation," ensuring that First Nations communities received notification and input on the proposed plans. But Akagi says his First Nation - the one whose traditional territory could be compromised - was the last to know. Emera was able to fulfill the legal requirement for development without consulting the Passamaquoddy; due in part to where they are geographically situated, the Passamaquoddy are not recognized as a Native North American band by the Canadian government.

At the same time, the Passamaquoddy have full treaty access to the lands in question.

"They did not use proper protocol," said Akagi. "What use is it to consult people in Eel ground or Madawaska, and not consult the people who are indigenous to the territory and who live on it?" He said the development threatens traditional practices, such as hunting and the gathering of herbs and roots for traditional medicines, and their retention depends in part on consultation from Emera.

"But our major concerns are the burial grounds," he said. "My people have lived on this land for thousands of years, and it's always possible that something could be disturbed in development. Normally the province ensures that archaeologists will speak with us, but that hasn't happened." But ultimately there is little recourse to contest the development. Akagi said the Passamaquoddy is seeking band status with the help of the provincial government. He said he isn't sure what his options are, whereas it may be past the point where anything short of a lawsuit could alter the course of the pipeline.

"But then, it's them that has the money, not us," he said.

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N.B. to fight U.S. LNG plant plans

canadaeast news service

The Department of Intergovernmental Affairs has retained a U.S. law firm, allowing the provincial government to seek intervener status in the upcoming hearings into two controversial liquefied natural gas terminals in Passamaquoddy Bay.

"The government has provincial interests that it wants to make sure are part of the proceedings," said Gisele Regimbal, a departmental spokeswoman. "As an intervener we will be going in and presenting those interests: the environmental, the safety and security, the economic interests that we have with respect to these projects."

The department could not officially name the law firm because it has not finished contacting the U.S.-based firms that were contacted and not hired to take on the task.

Regimbal said the firm has experience in these proceedings.

A groundswell of opposition has grown against two LNG terminals planned in Maine that would result in tankers passing through Canadian waters at Head Harbour Passage.

Downeast LNG has a $500-million plant earmarked for Robbinston, Me., while Quoddy Bay LNG is looking to build a terminal in Pleasant Point, Me.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a U.S.-government administrative tribunal, has set deadlines for potential interveners to apply for standing in the hearings for Jan. 16 and Jan. 22 for Downeast LNG and Quoddy Bay LNG respectively.

As an intervener, the New Brunswick government will receive all documents tabled in the proceedings as well as reinforcing the province's perspective at the hearings.

"Without being an intervener you aren't officially part of the process. By being part of the process we can ensure New Brunswick's interests can be represented throughout," Regimbal said.

Janice Harvey, of Save Passamoquoddy Bay-Canada, said she wasn't surprised that the province finally hired a U.S.-based legal team to challenge the LNG projects.

"The opposition is so universal in New Brunswick that for the province not to be there to speak on behalf of its citizens and the communities, particularly around Passamaquoddy Bay and its approaches, would look very bad on the other side of the line," Harvey said.

St. Andrews Mayor John Craig called the move a great symbolic gesture in support of those who stand in opposition to LNG tankers entering Passamaquoddy Bay.

"It's a big step, absolutely. It is wonderful to see the province of New Brunswick helping out and fighting this battle against the industrialization of Passamaquoddy Bay," Craig said.

"We in St. Andrews are very appreciative of the government stepping in because they have deeper pockets than a municipality would."

The provincial government's move doesn't come as much of a surprise, considering Premier Shawn Graham vowed to hire U.S. legal counsel in a Sept. 4, 2006, letter to two of his Charlotte County Liberal candidates in the last election.

"We recognize that only through timely intervention can the province's opposition to LNG in Passamaquoddy Bay be effectively heard and that only such timely intervention will qualify the province to appeal to the United States courts to reverse any license that FERC may grant," Graham's letter stated.

In that mid-campaign letter, Graham said he had "safety and environmental concerns" over the proposed construction of an LNG terminal at Pleasant Point in Passamaquoddy Bay, Me.

The FERC review could drag on up to 18 months, so it is difficult at this time to pinpoint how high the legal bills will accumulate for the province, according to the departmental spokeswoman.

"Because of the complexity of the process, it really depends on the strategy and how far in the process we are involved. Until that strategy is developed it is difficult to put a dollar figure on it," Regimbal said.

The regulatory board, according to Harvey, will give additional weight to the province's interventions than it would a citizens group.

That added heft in the hearings means a lot, Harvey said, adding that Save Passamaquoddy Bay-Canada has also applied for intervener status. The province's application for intervener status, as Graham's letter stated, means if FERC rules for the LNG projects, the government can appeal in the U.S. courts.

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