Aboriginal groups contest Bill C-45 – Fort McMurray Today

December 16, 2012

Aboriginal groups in Fort Chipewyan are refusing to recognize Bill C-45, an omnibus budget bill passed by the senate on Friday. It will also remove the protected status of thousands of rivers and streams in Canada.

The band councils for the Mikisew Cree First Nation and the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation argue they were not consulted by the federal government prior to the bill’s passing on Friday, and the new legislation will hurt their traditional lifestyle.

“We will never recognize any law which is passed by the Government of Canada which does not have our consent,” says Chief Steve Courtoreille of the MCFN. “We have not been consulted and have no option but to reject this arbitrary action.”

He adds that any law passed without aboriginal consultation “will not apply on our reserve lands and traditional territories.”

Read more: http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/2012/12/16/aboriginal-groups-contest-bill-c-45