Resource revenue sharing issue won’t go away – StarPhoenix

March 13, 2015

Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with then AFN leader Shawn Atleo in December 2013, and one of the outcomes of the meeting was the creation of a working group to examine resource development in Canada.

The blue ribbon group that was assembled included First Nations leaders, and business leaders who included co-chairs Chief Cameron Alexis from Alberta and Douglas Turnbull, deputy chair of Toronto Dominion Securities. The other three members were Richard Nerysoo, a longtime member of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly; Patrick McGuiness, a businessman who has held various senior positions in major corporations; and Regional Chief Roger Augustine from New Brunswick.

I’m sure the federal government thought this group would come up with some weak-kneed recommendations for training and increased employment, which would allow it to kick the problem down the road. Instead, the panel recommended that serious change is required. It said that First Nations are entitled to a share of resource revenues and should be involved in resource projects from the very beginning, including planning, design, management, ownership and reclamation.

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