Wotstak First Nation Chief Tim Paul says the Irvings and the provincial government aren’t following proper protocols
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On July 25, the River Valley Sun interviewed Wotstak First Nation Chief Tim Paul about Irving’s Brighton Mountain Wind Farm project near Juniper, which was announced this spring.
RVS: What concerns you most about this project?
TP: Any project that affects Indigenous treaty rights concerns me. The provincial government is supposed to flag projects that could impact our communities. Once they flag a project, they contact us. Brighton should have contacted Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick (WNNB).
From what I’ve been told, the Government of New Brunswick said it didn’t affect us, that there was no effect on our treaty rights. Now, they are backtracking. Whether it’s their land (Irving) or crown land, these types of projects affect wildlife in the area and go over streams, which should automatically trigger section 35* (of the Indian Act). There should be consultation.
They’ll be making roads into these places. The bases for those windmills are huge. They may be working in places where they may find archeological artifacts. If we are not part of that, things get swept under the rug.
They (the Irvings and the provincial government) didn’t do their due diligence; no, they did not, that is the problem.
RVS: What was Wotstak First Nation told about the wind farm?
TP: Like many people, I read about it in the paper, yet it’s in our backyard and Tobique’s backyard. I can’t speak for them, but the process is supposed to be that it goes to WNNB. The WNNB was sent a letter from the company, but that’s not consultation.
RVS: What do you want to see happen?
TP: There’s got to be, depending on size and scope, an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment), which will predict a path forward.
RVS: What bothers you most about how this has been rolled out?
The disrespect that GNB initially gave, saying there wasn’t an impact on treaty rights. That bothers me. The Irvings think they can just do whatever they want without consultation. In order for these things to go forward, there has to be dialogue. Dialogue goes a long way toward reconciliation.
I’m also worried about migratory birds and the impact the sound of the windmills will have on wildlife. When they begin construction, there’s the archeological side when they make roads or dig foundations at the site.
Our grandfathers’ stories from the pre-reserve days talked about being camped here, there, and everywhere. That is our territory. It saddens me the disrespect from our government and the Irvings. In their minds, there is no effect, but there is, and there is a process that needs to be followed. Of all people, GNB employees should have known the project would trigger section 35.
RVS: Why do you think the project didn’t trigger section 35 with the government?
TP: We all know why. It’s Irving. God love him, Jim Irving used to meet with me. He was a hands-on kind of guy, but he was, you could tell, a man who didn’t like it if he didn’t get his way.
RVS: What would it take to change your community’s position?
TP: I’m not sure what it would take to change our position, but until we actually see the project, can look at the EIA, if there even is one, and see what the real impacts are, we can’t do anything.
*Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 states that “the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed.” The Duty to Consult process is part of the duty of all federal and provincial governments to maintain the Honour of the Crown.
