Ideas for letters and address information

Cut and Paste the letter shown below into an email, fax or letter. Please feel free to change the text of this letter or forward it as it is - adding the number of oil/gas wells and pipelines that have been approved. ->Cut and paste friendly page

The Lubicon Lake Indian Nation, an Indigenous nation of approximately 500 people living in northern Alberta, have never surrendered their rights to their traditional lands and resources.

Even as the Lubicon Nation tries to reach a settlement of Lubicon land rights with the federal and Alberta governments, the Alberta government's Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) authorizes more and more oil and gas wells and pipelines within Lubicon Traditional Territory. These wells, pipelines and leases, designed to steal non-renewable Lubicon resources prior to any Treaty determining who has rights to the very lands and resources being forever altered by these developments.

Although the Prime Minister and the Minister of Indian Affairs have both stated publicly that Canada is committed to negotiating a settlement of Lubicon land rights, they have not sent their negotiators to the table in over a year.

Please write to the Minister of Indian Affairs, Andy Scott, your local Member of Parliament and Alberta Minister of Native Affairs Pearl Calahesan making note of the failure to conclude a land rights settlement with the Lubicon people and urging them to resolve this injustice through negotiations now.

Addresses of the two Ministers and the address of your Member of Parliament can be found by using the links to the right ->.

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The Hon. Andy Scott
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Parliament Hill
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Tel: (613) 992-1067
Fax: (613) 996-9955
Email: Scott.A@parl.gc.ca

Dear Mr. Scott;

Yesterday, yet another __ [wells, pipelines] were approved for development in the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation's Traditional Territory even though the rights to those lands and resources have yet to be negotiated with the Lubicon people.

As you know the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation has been seeking a settlement of its land rights for over 65 years. The United Nations, Amnesty International and the World Council of Churches have all urged Canada to resolve this human rights issue in a timely way. And yet there is still no settlement.

There are already well over 1,700 well sites within Lubicon Traditional Territory and the Lubicons estimate that over $13 billion in oil and gas resources have been extracted from their lands. The Alberta government has profited from royalties on those resources and the federal government has received corporate income taxes from the companies involved. The Lubicon people have received at most some occasional employment for some of their people -- but still have none of the basic community facilities that Canadians take for granted like running water, decent housing, and a recreation centre for their kids. Surely with the vast riches taken daily from their lands there is no reason why the Lubicon people should be deprived of a fair and just settlement.

Please send negotiators to the table with a mandate to conclude a full land rights settlement with the Lubicon people including full recognition of the Lubicon Nation's inherent rights, and financial compensation in light of the enormous profits Canadian companies and governments have reaped from Lubicon lands.

I am copying this letter to my Member of Parliament so that my representative can be aware of the scale of resource exploitation on unceded Lubicon Territory and will join me in demanding that our government take action to finally redress this long-standing injustice.

I will continue to keep you appraised of new developments as they are approved. Please also let me know what you are doing to resolve this situation.

Sincerely,

 

[ your name ]