Aboriginal rally for oil in Alberta says energy sector is vital to them

LAKE BICHE, Alta. – Aboriginal supporters of Canada's oil and gas industry came together on Sunday to highlight the sector as a vital part of their lives.

"It does not matter whether you own a business, worker or aboriginal community. We are all in the same boat, "said Lee Thom, an adviser at Kikino Metis Settlement, to a crowd gathered at a recreation center in Lac La Biche, Alberta.

Rene Houle, of Whitefish Lake First Nation, said the energy sector generates spinoff companies that employ hundreds of people in her community – with the money earned in car dealerships, movie theaters and other companies from neighboring cities.

The oil and gas sector is preventing citizens from becoming a burden for social protection and justice systems, he said.

"We would not have a proper life. We would not have a meaningful lifestyle, a healthy lifestyle, "Houle said. "Only our First Nation would not be able to generate that."

Sunday's rally was organized by the Region One Aboriginal Business Association, which represents Aboriginal businesses in northern Alberta, and supported by Rally 4 Resources and Canada Action, who have organized other oil rallies and convoys in northern Alberta. Western Canada.

The organizers pointed out that the event was non-partisan and unaffiliated with "yellow vest" events, in which participants wear very visible yellow vests, similar to recent events in France, but which often convey an anti- United Nations.

Participants were instead asked to wear a wetsuit and flame retardant helmets.

The event began with performances by Aboriginal drummers, singers and dancers, as well as Métis jiggers from the Amisk Community School of the Beaver Lake Cree Nation.

Bill C-69, the federal legislation that critics say will make it more difficult to approve new pipelines and energy projects, was mentioned during the rally.

Organizers and speakers said they did not oppose the bill completely, but argued that it needed to be changed to better balance economic development with the need to protect the environment, traditional Aboriginal lands and harvesting rights.

"The current situation in its current state is devastating for oil and gas," said Shawn McDonald, president of the Region One Aboriginal Business Association.

Lac La Biche Mayor Omer Moghrabi said Canadians must resist criticism south of the border who felt the country was not doing enough to protect the environment while developing its oil sector. and gas.

"We have 150 bodies of water in our city," Moghrabi told participants. "We are stewards of the environment, as are our producers."

-By Drinkwater in Edmonton