It’s time to see some justice in Canada for First Nation people, who have been exploited and ripped off for over 400 years. The natives should be billionaires if they want to have development on their land. They own their resources.
A recent agreement, in 2012, has the natives opting for one-third ownership if a mine is developed in their N.W.T. traditional land in return for allowing the company to explore for minerals there. Another land claim this year has the First Nations
receive a 12 per cent royalty for resources on their own territory in eastern Canada.
Most Canadians are blind when it comes to the value of our resources. In 2010, former Alberta premier Ed Stelmach said they should have been collecting $200,000 dollars more for the previous 10 years if they had been getting decent return from royalties in their province for oil and gas companies.
In Saskatchewan this spring they sold leases in small blocks for oil and gas for $17 million for March. One area went for over $9,000 a hectare. And they said they thought they would get more because some months, leases are worth over $20 million and a lot of people, including me, think they are not getting enough revenue from their resources.
Ottawa takes a 10 per cent royalty from the diamond mines in the N.W.T.
So let’s slow down and think about everything before we give all our resources to other countries and corporations. We need vision to think far into the future to take care of all people’s needs. There is enough for all, but there is not enough for the greedy people who are never satisfied and destroy the environment and everyone in their path.
Look around. We have everything we need to build a healthy, strong community, so let’s not sign our future away for a few dollars to spend today.
Dennis Murray
Whitehorse