NunatuKavut News
NCC Taking Action on the Ground!
Posted 26 September 2012, 3:56 pm ADT
For Immediate Release – September 26, 2012
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NunatuKavut Taking Action on the Ground.
The NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC) is taking on-the-ground action against the proposed Lower Churchill hydro projects. Members of the NCC are setting up a slowdown area and information picket on the Trans Labrador Highway near the Cartwright Junction, which sits within the NCC land claim area in southern Labrador.
The aboriginal rights and titles of the NunatuKavut people are being ignored and infringed upon. NCC sees no benefits from this project for its members and for Labradorians as a whole. NCC President Todd Russell says, "Damage to the environment and wildlife will affect our ability to carry on our culture and traditions. Transmission lines will cut through the heart of our territory, yet our people will still be forced to use diesel generators and have higher electricity rates. We may get temporary employment, we may see a brief increase in economic activity, but we know all-too-well that those benefits are short lived. The destruction and negative impacts that we will endure will be with us for generations to come."
NCC has taken every reasonable effort to enter into a formal negotiating process and governments have refused. Furthermore, NCC's Fisheries Guardians have been denied access into construction sites where fish-bearing waters are abundant, even though they have the authority under the Fisheries Act to investigate these sites.
NCC President, Todd Russell, who has been pushing for a table says, "The law is clear that government has a legal obligation to respect the aboriginal rights of NCC, yet they are ignoring these obligations. We have no other alternative but to take this action to protect our own rights, and the land. This is what we are doing."
NCC encourages its members to participate and invites supporters in this peaceful action.
View photos of NCC's protest of the Muskrat Falls development, on the Trans-Labrador Highway, near Cartwright Junction.
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Media Contact:
Tara McLean
Executive Assistant to the President
NunatuKavut Community Council
(709) 896-0592 ext. 225, (709) 899-2831 (cell)
tmclean@nunatukavut.ca
_______________________________________________________________________
NunatuKavut Taking Action on the Ground.
The NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC) is taking on-the-ground action against the proposed Lower Churchill hydro projects. Members of the NCC are setting up a slowdown area and information picket on the Trans Labrador Highway near the Cartwright Junction, which sits within the NCC land claim area in southern Labrador.
The aboriginal rights and titles of the NunatuKavut people are being ignored and infringed upon. NCC sees no benefits from this project for its members and for Labradorians as a whole. NCC President Todd Russell says, "Damage to the environment and wildlife will affect our ability to carry on our culture and traditions. Transmission lines will cut through the heart of our territory, yet our people will still be forced to use diesel generators and have higher electricity rates. We may get temporary employment, we may see a brief increase in economic activity, but we know all-too-well that those benefits are short lived. The destruction and negative impacts that we will endure will be with us for generations to come."
NCC has taken every reasonable effort to enter into a formal negotiating process and governments have refused. Furthermore, NCC's Fisheries Guardians have been denied access into construction sites where fish-bearing waters are abundant, even though they have the authority under the Fisheries Act to investigate these sites.
NCC President, Todd Russell, who has been pushing for a table says, "The law is clear that government has a legal obligation to respect the aboriginal rights of NCC, yet they are ignoring these obligations. We have no other alternative but to take this action to protect our own rights, and the land. This is what we are doing."
NCC encourages its members to participate and invites supporters in this peaceful action.
View photos of NCC's protest of the Muskrat Falls development, on the Trans-Labrador Highway, near Cartwright Junction.
-30-
Media Contact:
Tara McLean
Executive Assistant to the President
NunatuKavut Community Council
(709) 896-0592 ext. 225, (709) 899-2831 (cell)
tmclean@nunatukavut.ca