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The Canadian Institute of Resources Law Conference on:

Aboriginal Peoples and the Future of Water Management in Alberta

June 10-11, 2010
Grant MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta.

Conference Handbook: (download here) 

Conference Presentations:

Objectives:
This public legal education conference is designed to take a look at asserted Aboriginal and treaty rights/responsibilities in relation to water and to discuss how these rights may fit into the current statutory regime in Alberta. The objective is to enhance the capacity of all parties to participate meaningfully in the ongoing review of the water management and allocation system. Various experts will be invited to present their views on Aboriginal perspectives on water, the existence and scope of Aboriginal rights to water, ways in which these rights currently are and could be accommodated in the regulatory regime pertaining to water, the issue of safe drinking water on reserve, and transboundary water issues.

The objectives of the conference are to:

  • educate the audience about the claims of Aboriginal peoples to water, in the context of the provincial review of the existing water allocation and water management system;
  • explain the challenges FNs are facing in the exercise of fundamental water rights;
  • foster a dialogue between all concerned by the future of water in Alberta;
  • identify options/ideas for a meaningful involvement of Aboriginal peoples in the review of the water allocation and management system.

Audience:
Aboriginal representatives, the public at large, government representatives involved in water-related initiatives (e.g. federal and provincial governments, municipalities), industrial and commercial water users and any NGOs or groups concerned with the future of water resources in the province.

Programme: (download here)

Day 1 - Thursday, June 10
Panel: Setting the Context
The Alberta Treaties: The Promise of Livelihood
Impact of Federal Water Legislation and the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement (NRTA) on Water Rights
Provincial Water Allocation/Licensing and Water Agreements with FNS
Water Planning: Water for Life and Land-use Planning (LUF/ALSA)
Question Period
Day 2 - Friday, June 11
Transboundary Water Issues and River Basin Agreements
Downstream Issues: The Mackenzie Basin, NWT, Saskatchewan
Legal Issues on Aboriginal Safe Drinking Water
Upstream Challenges: Dam Construction on the Peace River
Question Period
Panel Discussion: The Way Forward
Concluding Words

Speakers:

  • Andrew Bear Robe, Chief Executive Officer, Siksika Nation
  • Vivienne Beisel, Beisel Law Office
  • Gary Bohnet, Deputy Minister, Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories
  • Marie-Ann Bowden, Professor, College of Law, University of Saskatchewan
  • Don Deranger, Vice-Chief, Prince Albert Grand Council
  • Linda F. Duncan, MP Edmonton-Strathcona, NDP Environment Critic
  • Lisa M. Fox, Executive Director, Sustainability Resources Ltd.
  • Samuel Gargan, Grand Chief, Dehcho First Nations
  • Larry Innes, Executive Director, Canadian Boreal Initiative
  • Clayton Leonard, Associate, MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP
  • Oliver MacLaren, Rae and Company
  • Dave McGee, Senior Policy and Implementation Manager, Alberta Environment
  • Trish Merrithew-Mercredi, Regional Director General - Northwest Territories, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
  • David Percy, Q.C., Borden Ladner Gervais Professor of Energy Law and Policy, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta
  • Merrell-Ann Phare, Executive Director and Legal Counsel, Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources
  • George Poitras, former Chief, Mikisew Cree First Nation
  • Owen Saunders, Executive Director, Canadian Institute of Resources Law
  • Jerome Slavik, Ackroyd LLP
  • Roland Willson, Chief, West Moberly First Nation

Moderators:

  • Cindy Chiasson, Executive Director, Environmental Law Centre
  • Monique Passelac-Ross, Research Associate, Canadian Institute of Resources Law
  • Ron Maurice, Senior Partner, Maurice Law, Barristers & Solicitors

Funding provided by the Alberta Law Foundation 

Defining Aboriginal Rights to Water in Alberta: Do They Still "Exist"? How Extensive are They?
by Monique M. Passelac-Ross and Christina M. Smith, 2010.
41 pp. Occasional Paper #29. $15.00 (softcover)

This report explores some fundamental questions in relation to the water rights of Aboriginal peoples in Alberta. Aboriginal peoples have long asserted that water is essential to life. They view water as the lifeblood of the earth. The perceived threat to the health and integrity of river systems is a threat to their own integrity and survival. They share growing concerns over the future of water supplies in Alberta with non-Aboriginal peoples. They affirm that they have fundamental rights with respect to water, along with responsibilities to ensure that the integrity of waters is protected, responsibilities which they want to share with government and all water users.

There is uncertainty concerning the nature and extent of Aboriginal rights to water, both on reserve and off-reserve. The report addresses only some of the questions that arise in connection with this subject, namely the origin, nature and scope of the rights. The main question that we seek to answer is whether Aboriginal peoples in Alberta can claim rights to water, and if so, what is the status of these rights by comparison with other provincially recognized water rights.

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