Mikmaw and supporters gather in Halifax to push back against uranium mining

A few dozen people stood outside the provincial legislature in Halifax on Friday demanding that the government abandon a decision to reverse a ban on uranium mining. “He just signed away our rights, but it’s not that easy,” said Cheryl Maloney from Sipeknekatik First Nation. In March, the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Tim Houston passed legislation that lifted a long-standing ban on uranium exploration and mining and a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. Houston has said the legislative changes were needed to boost the province’s economy as it deals with the challenges posed by U.S. tariffs. Chiefs responded by issuing a news release on March 28 saying they were firmly opposed to any legislation that opens the door to hydraulic fracturing, a process more commonly known as fracking. A ban on uranium mining has been in place since 2009. Houston made the decision without consulting First Nations. “Free, prior, informed consent, everybody has to have a say, not on what they can take from the land, we have to have a say on how we protect that land and protect the water,” Maloney said. Photo: Angel Moore/APTN. The Nova Scotia Assembly of Mi’kmaw Chiefs said the provincial government needs to do a better job of consultation as it pushes to develop the province’s natural resources. Chief Tamara Young, of Pictou Landing First Nation, told the legislature’s natural resources committee in May that the chiefs have “serious concerns” over how recent decisions have been made without advance notice. “We should not hear about important developments that Nova Scotia is making from the evening news,” said Young. “This includes when policy or legislative changes are being proposed in the mining sector. “Frankly that engagement should have come earlier in the process than where we are now, as constitutional rights holders across the lands, waters, and resources in Nova Scotia, we expect to be part of early discussions before decisions are made, we should not hear about important developments that Nova Scotia is making from the evening news.” Melanie Peter-Paul from Sipekne’katik First Nation agreed. “We are here today because the Mi’kmaq Nation was not consulted when the uranium mining ban was lifted,” she said. “There was no free and prior informed consent and we are here to say no to Uranium mining in Nova Scotia.” Maloney said it’s time to government with Mi’kmaw laws and urged Mi’kmaw and Nova Scotians to come together. “They are coming for all of our critical minerals and all of our water, and those two things together are really important, and the lack of communication and consultation by Tim Houston’s government is why we are going to start a shadow government,” she said. With files from the Canadian Press Continue Reading