Concerns for the local indigenous community

Reference Number
230
Text

My name is Gerald Gloade and I am a Millbrook First Nation band member. As most people are probably aware, our community has reserve lands in Baver Dam, near the proposed mine site - Beaver Lake I.R. My concerns have to do with the adverse impacts that the project will have on our collective harvesting rights. The Beaver Dam mine site and its infrastructure will contribute to a long-term loss of Crown lands, which translates to a significant loss of harvesting area. This is a serious issue when you consider that many of the residents of Beaver Lake I.R. are sustinence harvesters. Hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering not for fun, but to put food on the table. It is often assumed that our right to harvest is recreational; a pass time. Our rights, as they apply to resource usage and harvesting, exist for our people to avoid food insecurity. They are engrained in our way of life. The proposed mine runs the risk of compromising the quality and abundance of natural resources that we rely on for food.

Submitted by
Gerald Gloade
Phase
N/A
Public Notice
Public Notice - Public Comments Invited on a Revised Summary of the Environmental Impact Statement
Attachment(s)
N/A
Comment Tags
Indigenous Rights
Date Submitted
2021-12-17 - 1:42 PM
Date modified: