Two Indigenous groups are gearing up for a rally next week at the Supreme Court of Canada that could signal a pivotal moment for Indigenous land rights.
In the final push of a two-year ordeal, on Nov. 30 the court will hear the separate appeals of Chippewas of the Thames First Nation and the Clyde River Inuit to respectively block Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline and seismic testing that, the complainants argue, infringe upon Indigenous land rights.
The groups will be staging rallies across downtown Ottawa throughout the day of the hearings and organizers said they are expecting a major turnout.
“There are so many groups that are looking to support this cause that it’s hard for us to gauge exactly how many people will show up,” said Clint Couchie, a policy analyst with Ontario-based Chippewas of the Thames. “We’ve been receiving national support.”
Placing a rough estimate at around 1,000 people, Couchie said he expects members of the Munsee-Delaware First Nation and the Oneida First Nation to be joining the rally alongside the COTTFN, Inuit groups and additional supporters.
Events will start at 6 a.m. on Victoria Island with a sunrise ceremony before demonstrators proceed to the Supreme Court for 8 a.m. Activists will spend most of the day rallying on Parliament Hill.
Victoria Island is traditionally important for Ontario First Nations because of its historical and cultural significance as a sacred meeting place in Indigenous culture.
Indigenous leaders see the rally as an ideal way to draw attention to the importance of the hearings that will take place that day within court.
Jerry Natanine, the former mayor of Clyde River who has been involved in the legal campaign to stop seismic testing in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait since its approval by the National Energy Board in 2014, said he feels the environmental impacts are too significant to ignore.
“They didn’t have our best intentions in mind for our way of life and our existence,” said Natanine.
Used as a way to search for offshore oil and gas reserves, seismic testing involves blasting the sea floor, which environmental experts say has the potential to harm marine life that are vital to the Inuit way of life.
“There is no doubt that marine life is impacted,” said Farrah Khan, an Arctic campaigner with Greenpeace Canada.
She added that narwhal, a key Inuit food source, would be severely impacted due to their reliance on sound for navigation and communication, which can be disrupted by the seismic blasts.
Both cases have been driven by what the Indigenous critics call a lack consultation over the energy projects, and along with environmental concerns, legal teams will be arguing that Indigenous groups were not adequately consulted before the projects received approval.
However, previous court decisions did not go in their favour. In October 2015, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the Chippewas case on the grounds that the NEB and Enbridge had fulfilled consultation requirements.
In an email statement, Enbridge said the company has made and will continue making efforts to engage with Indigenous communities “above and beyond what is required by regulators.”
Natanine said a positive ruling in favour of both communities would help Indigenous groups across Canada deal with potential energy developments in the future.
“It will have a very positive impact on not only the people who are affected but Canada in general,” said Natanine. “To deal with Indigenous Peoples fairly and honestly is the right way to go.”
Khan said it could take the court up to 10 months to issue a ruling after next week’s arguments. If the appeal is unsuccessful, seismic testing could begin in Nunavut waters as early as this summer.