ATHABASCA CHIPEWYAN FIRST NATION SUBMISSION ERCB ...

ATHABASCA CHIPEWYAN FIRST NATION SUBMISSION 

ERCB APPLICATION NO. 1554388 

CEAR No. 59540 

WILL SAY STATEMENT OF 

BEATRICE DERANGER 

Beatrice Deranger will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca 

Chipewyan First Nation in respect of the Notice of Question of Constitutional Law and 

the hearing of the application. 

Family History 

• Ms. Deranger was born in Fort Smith, North West Territories in 1963 and has 

been an ACFN member since birth. She grew up in Fort Chipewyan, on her 

family’s trapline in Saskatchewan and then in Fort McMurray. She has been 

living in Fort McMurray since she was twelve years old. 

• Her mother is Dora Flett, an ACFN member. 

Traditional Activities 

• Ms. Deranger will speak about ACFN practices of hunting, trapping, gathering 

and fishing. 

• Ms. Deranger will also speak about her use of lands in and around Fort McMurray 

and Fort McKay, and in specific the lands around Kearl Lake, north of Fort 

McKay. 

• She will describe her personal experiences carrying on traditional activities on the 

land with her family and with other members of ACFN, and what others have 

passed along to her. 

• Ms. Deranger will speak about the cultural and spiritual connections to the land, 

animals and plants that she has learned and practiced as an ACFN member. 

Changes Observed in ACFN Traditional territory 

• Ms. Deranger will speak about the impacts of development, and in particular, oil 

sands development on the people, animals, land, water, vegetation in ACFN 

territory. 

• Ms. Deranger will also speak about the changes in the area around Kearl Lake and 

the impacts she has noticed, and what the proposed Shell Jackpine expansion will 

do to her ability to practice her treaty rights. 

• Ms. Deranger will speak about the impacts oil sands development is having on 

ACFN culture. 

• She will also speak about her and other ACFN members’ lost connection with 

land taken up for development. 

• Ms. Deranger will speak about the difficulty in finding suitable areas to take her 

children to hunt and gather in ACFN territory due to oil sands development and 

the impact it has on her when she sees harvesting grounds taken up for oil sands 

development. 

• Ms. Deranger will speak about how discouraging it is to try and access ACFN 

territory when there are fences and security gates to pass through.




• Ms. Deranger will speak about her observations on how an oil sands operation 

affects the wildlife populations and ACFN practices well beyond its physical 

footprint.





CHARLIE VOYAGEUR 

Mr. Charlie Voyageur will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca 




• Mr. Charlie Voyageur was born in 1932 at Jackfish Lake, he is an ACFN 

member. 

• His parents Isadore and Colombe Voyageur were also ACFN members, they had 

12 children including Mr. Voyageur and raised them around Jackfish Lake. 


• Mr. Charlie Voyageur will describe the seasonal round and how different 

resources require travel and access to different parts of the traditional lands at 

various times of the year. 

• Mr. Voyageur will describe the importance of place and traditional locations to 

the exercise of rights. It is important to know the land you are using. 

• People could travel and explore new areas more in the old days because there 

were relatives, other land users to show them around. 

• In the 1940s many ACFN members used the area around Fort McKay, Muskeg 

River and Kearl Lake. Mr. Voyaguer has hunted, trapped and fished in this area 

with his aunt Alice Boucher, uncle Alec Boucher, and their family. 

• Kearl Lake was an important and very good hunting location. The family would 

walk from Fort Mckay to Kearl Lake with dog packs for different resources in 

different seasons. Mr. Voyageur observed other families travelling to and using 

Kearl Lake as well. 

• Mr. Voyageur will discuss the importance of fish as a traditional resource. 

• Mr. Voyageur devotes time to passing on traditional ways of life to young people. 

Impacts to the Traditional Lands and Way of Life 

• Mr. Voyageur will discuss the impact that the registered trapline system and other 

government initiatives have had on ACFN members’ ability to use traditional 

lands in their traditional pattern. 

• ACFN people used to live on and use the area around Fort McKay and all the way 

down the Athabasca River. 

• Mines and other projects end the traditional way of life where they are located. 

• Once fences and private property signs are up, Mr. Voyageur believes those areas 

are no longer available for his use. 

• Mr. Voyageur has to carry water with him now to go out on the land. 

• Mr. Voyageur has observed increasing use of the Richardson Backcountry by 

non-native people.





CHIEF ALLAN ADAM 

Chief Allan Adam will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan First 

Nation (ACFN) in respect of the Notice of Question of Constitutional Law and the hearing of the 

application: 

Background 

• Chief Adam has lived in Fort Chipewyan for most of his life and is an ACFN member. 

• Chief Adam is an active land user. 

• Chief Adam has served as Chief since 2003 and previously served for four years as a 

Band Councilor 

• He will describe the current ACFN leadership structure and membership; 

• He will provide a profile of the present day ACFN community as well as ACFN 

institutions and organizations. 

ACFN History and Rights 

• Chief Adam will describe the history of the ACFN, including how ACFN is a signatory 

to Treaty 8; 

• He will speak about ACFN’s organization as a “band” under the Indian Act and ACFN’s 

eight reserves. 

• He will give an overview of some defining events such as the creation of Wood Buffalo 

National Park and the building of the Bennett Dam and how that has affected ACFN 

members ability to carry out their traditional activities and practices. 

• Chief Adam will speak to the importance of aboriginal and treaty rights, and associated 

cultural activities, to community health, identity, economy and cultural survival. 

ACFN Traditional Territory 

• Chief Adam will explain how the ACFN has always utilized a large range of territory to 

carry out their traditions and traditional activities and practices; 

• He will describe the importance of water to the Athabasca Chipewyan way of life; 

• He will describe the cultural and spiritual connection between ACFN members and the 

land; 

• He will describe why ACFN members cannot simply “go elsewhere”; 

• He will describe the increasing pace and magnitude of development within ACFN’s 

traditional lands, and how the Crown is failing to ensure that ACFN retains a meaningful 

ability to exercise its treaty rights. 

Consultation with the Crown 

• Chief Adam will speak to ACFN leadership’s efforts to raise the importance of their 

constitutionally-protected rights with the federal and provincial governments and third 

parties;




• He will explain how the ACFN has participated in a number of processes with 

government and industry; 

• He will describe the correspondence between ACFN leadership and the federal and 

provincial governments and third parties that relates to consultation and accommodation 

and to the assertion of ACFN’s constitutionally-protected Treaty rights. 

• He will explain how ACFN has made the governments of Canada and Alberta aware of 

ACFN’s traditional territory, including places of particular importance to ACFN, and 

ACFN’s use of that territory; 

Community Concerns 

• Chief Adam will present the ACFN membership’s concerns with past, present, and 

proposed developments that have had or will likely have impacts on their lives; 

• He will describe how ACFN leadership has made the federal and provincial governments 

aware of these concerns; 

• He will explain how the ACFN people are concerned that they will be displaced from 

their territories once again; 

• He will describe how traditional resources are crucial for ACFN culture and traditional 

activities and the impacts the ongoing degradation of these resources is having on 

ACFN’s culture and way of life.





DOREEN SOMERS 

Ms. Doreen Somers will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca 



• Ms. Somers is a Treaty 9 Rights holder. 

• Ms. Somers has worked on behalf of First Nations in consultation processes in 

North Eastern Alberta since 2007, including but not limited to participating in 

Crown, regional, and multi-party processes related to the Lower Athabasca 

Regional Plan, the Comprehensive Regional Infrastructure Sustainability 

Program, Public Land Administrative Regulations, Land Use Framework, All 

Parties Core Agreement, Regulatory Enhancement, and the Oil Sands 

Developers Group. 

• Ms. Somers has previously worked for industry and Crown agencies on 

consultation and land related matters. 

• Ms. Somers is currently the ACFN Industrial Relations Corporation’s (“IRC”) 

Consultation Coordinator. 

• As Consultation Coordinator, Ms. Somers reviews, responds to, and coordinates 

ACFN IRC responses to applications to the Crown from industry, as well as to 

proposed legislative changes. Ms. Somers acts as a link between the IRC and 

ACFN elected Leadership, land users, elders and the Crown. 

• The IRC has raised concerns about direct and cumulative adverse impacts of 

development on ACFN’s constitutionally-protected rights as well as the 

downstream impacts of development, and the need for meaningful consultation 

and accommodation. 

• Ms. Somers will describe her observations regarding engagement processes 

involving the Province of Alberta and its delegates, including the timing, nature 

and outcomes of some of those consultation processes in which she has been 

directly involved, including with reference to other jurisdictions where she has 

worked. 

• Ms. Somers will describe her observations regarding engagement processes with 

Canada, including the timing, nature, and outcomes of some of those 

consultation processes in which she has been directly involved.





JERRY ALLAN ADAM 

Jerry Adam will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan First 

Nation in respect of the Notice of Question of Constitutional Law and the hearing of the 

application. 


• Mr. Adam was born May 13, 1955 in Uranium City. He is an ACFN member. 

• Mary Olive Adam is his mother and Eusebe Adam is his father and both are 

ACFN members. 

• He moved to Fort Chipewyan when he was five years old and left in 1970 when 

he was15 years old. He went to school in Fort McMurray until 1975. 

• Mr. Adam has two sisters and eight brothers. The present Chief, Allan Adam, is 

one of his brothers. 


• Mr. Adam will speak about ACFN practices of hunting, trapping, gathering and 

fishing. 

• Mr. Adam will speak about ACFN use of waterways and lands in ACFN’s 

territories from the north shore of Lake Athabasca south to Kearl Lake. 

• He will describe his personal experiences learning and carrying on traditional 

activities on the land with his family and with other members of ACFN. 

• Mr. Adam will speak about his personal experiences hunting, trapping and 

gathering various species of plants and animals. 

• Mr. Adam will speak to the abundance of wilfdlife and berries that he has seen 

and harvested in the Kearl Lake area in 2004. 

• Mr. Adam will also speak to the archaeological artifacts he has seen in the 

vicinity of Kearl Lake, and to oral traditions passed on by his father’s family. 

Changes Observed in ACFN Traditional Territory 

• Mr. Adam will speak about the changes he has observed in the water levels on the 

Athabasca River, Lake Athabasca and other water bodies in ACFN territory. 

• Mr. Adam will also speak about the discouraging effect changes in water levels 

have had on ACFN members’ ability to hunt. 

• Mr. Adam will speak about the impact the changes in water levels have had on his 

ability to travel through ACFN territory, to hunt for moose, birds and other 

animals, to gather, to trap, and to access areas for spiritual and other uses. 

• He will speak about the impacts of development, and in particular, oil sands 

development on the people, animals, land, water, vegetation and air over time. 

• He will speak about the changes he has observed in the abundance of wildlife 

such as muskrat and birds.




• Mr. Adam will speak about the ways in which he has to modify his hunting 

practices and locations. 

• He will also speak to the decrease in hunting, trapping, gathering and fishing 

areas in ACFN territory as a result of oil sands operations. 

• He will speak to the ever shrinking number of places that ACFN members can use 

to teach their youth about hunting. 

• Mr. Adam will speak to his concerns about reclamation and the inability to 

recreate the muskeg on which the animals and healthy water systems rely. 

• Mr. Adam will also speak to the broader footprint and set of impacts that an oil 

sand operation has on the landscape. 

• Mr. Adam will speak to the increase in accessibility by others to the surrounding 

area after an oil sand operation is established.





JOHN REED RIGNEY 

John Rigney will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan 

First Nation in respect of the Notice of Question of Constitutional Law and the hearing of 

the application. 

Family History: 

• Mr. Rigney arrived in Fort Chipewyan in 1972 as teacher and has lived there ever 

since. Has taught many of the ACFN people that are now between the ages of 45 

and 52. 

• He works for ACFN as Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Special Initiatives 

Manager. He has worked in various capacities for the Athabasca Chipewyan First 

Nation (“the ACFN”) since 1986, including Band Manager 1986-88 and 1995- 

2002, and Education Coordinator from 1990-94.) 

• He is married to Alice Rigney (nee Marcel), who has reapplied to be an ACFN 

member. 

• His brother in law is former Chief Pat Marcel. His father in law was Benjamin 

Marcel who served as headman from approximately 1927, the year of Chief Jonas 

Laviolette’s death, to 1953 when ACFN chose a new chief. 

Cumulative Impacts: 

• Mr. Rigney will speak about the changes that the ACFN members have 

experienced as a result of the industrial development of their land base. 

• Mr. Rigney will speak about the oral traditions that were passed down by those 

born around the signing of Treaty 8 and have since passed away. 

• Mr. Rigney will speak about his observations of the impacts on ACFN culture of 

children being removed from their families and placed in residential school. 

• He will speak about his observations of the impact of the Bennett Dam on ACFN 

people, including the impacts on their traditional way of life, economy, culture, 

trapping and fishing. 

• He will also speak about his observations of the impact on ACFN members of the 

end of both the sawmill and uranium industries on Lake Athabasca. 

• Mr. Rigney will speak about his observations of the various social problems that 

resulted from the collapse of all of these industries. 

Impact of Oil Sands Development: 

• Mr. Rigney will speak about his observations of the impacts that oil sands 

development has had on ACFN youth and young adults, ACFN culture and 

traditions. 

• He will speak about the transition that ACFN members have had to make from 

traditional lifestyles to working in the oil sands industry.




• Mr. Rigney will also speak about the changes in ACFN members’ perceptions and 

confidence in the quality of water, fish and wild food on which they rely. 

Loss of Knowledge: 

• Mr. Rigney will also speak about the loss of traditional knowledge, both in terms 

of that which is no longer passed on as well as the loss of knowledge resulting 

from oil sands development as that land gets taken up.





JONATHAN BRUNO 

Jonathan Bruno will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan 




• Mr. Bruno was born May 25, 1983 in Fort Chipewyan and grew up in Fort 

Chipewyan. 

• Mr. Bruno’s mother is Marlene Bruno and she is an ACFN member; Rene Bruno 

and Mary Bruno are his grandparents on his mother’s side. 

• Mr. Bruno’s father is George Cardinal. Joe Sam Cardinal and Jojo Cardinal (nee 

Tourangeau) are his grandparents on his father’s side. 


• Mr. Bruno will speak about ACFN practices of hunting, trapping, gathering and 

fishing. 

• Mr. Bruno will speak about ACFN use of waterways and lands in ACFN’s 

territories north and south of Lake Athabasca. 


activities on the land with his family and with other members of ACFN. 

• Mr. Bruno will speak about his personal experiences at his father’s (and now his) 

trapline. 

• Mr. Bruno will speak about his personal experiences hunting, trapping and 

gathering various species of plants and animals. 


• Mr. Bruno will speak about the changes he has observed in the water levels on the 

Athabasca River, Lake Athabasca and other water bodies in ACFN territory. 

• Mr. Bruno will speak about the impact the changes in water levels have had on his 

ability to travel through ACFN territory, to hunt for moose, birds and other 

animals, to gather, to trap, and to access areas for spiritual and other uses. 



• He will speak about the changes he has observed in the abundance of wildlife. 

Impacts on Culture: 

• Mr. Bruno will speak about the impacts that the oil sands industry, and in 

particular, low water levels, have on his ability to teach ACFN practices, 

traditions and culture to his children.




• Mr. Bruno will speak about the importance of teaching his children about ACFN 

practices, traditions and culture in order for ACFN practices, traditions and 

culture to survive. 

• Mr. Bruno will speak about the importance of continuing to live off the land and 

the challenges ACFN people face in attempting to do so. 

• Mr. Bruno will speak about the areas of ACFN territory that he can and will no 

longer go due to industrial development.





KIMBERLY MARCEL 

Ms. Kimberly Joy Marcel will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca 




• Ms. Marcel has lived in Fort Chipewyan for over 30 years 

• She is married to ACFN member Henry Marcel, and her two sons Matthew and 

Peter Marcel are ACFN members 

Traditional Activities and Impacts from Industrial Development 

• Ms. Marcel and her family are active traditional land users. 

• Ms. Marcel’s family relies heavily on wild meat for cultural and economic 

reasons 

• Ms. Marcel and her family no longer consume fish from Lake Athabasca on a 

regular basis due to health concerns. 

• Ms. Marcel and her family have experienced difficulties accessing preferred 

hunting locations due to low water levels. 

• Ms. Marcel is concerned about the contamination of air and water and will speak 

to the need for whistle-blower protection for employees, and for effective 

government-Fort Chipewyan communication of accidents and risks. 

Social and Economic Matters 

• Ms. Marcel worked in ACFN’s employment and training department from 2002 

to 2008. From 2008 – present she has worked in ACFN’s social services 

department, but she still works closely with the employment and training 

department. 

• Ms. Marcel has observed that training programs provided by companies as 

‘mitigation’ are not always effective for reasons such as: 

o Type of training dictated from outside and does not match community 

needs or interests 

o When training is provided in larger centres it can be difficult for people to 

leave home and family and adjust to living in a larger centre and being 

exposed to a high risk lifestyle 

• Ms. Marcel has observed that oil sands related employment is not an accessible 

benefit for some members for reasons such as: 

o Requirement to live away from Fort Chipewyan 

o Lack of fly in fly out programs 

o Difficulty managing family responsibilities and emergencies from a 

distance 

o Exposure to high risk lifestyle 

o Difficulty accessing services in Fort McMurray 

o Lack of child care





LESLIE LAVIOLETTE 

Mr. Leslie (Les) Laviolette will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca 




• Mr. Laviolette was born on May 17, 1963 at Fort Chipewyan. Mr. Laviolette is an 

ACFN member. 

• Mr. Laviolette was raised in Fort Chipewyan until age 14. He lived in Fort 

McKay from approximately 1995 until 2011, and moved back to Fort Chipewyan 

in 2011. 

• Mr. Laviolette’s parents – Frank and Emma Laviolette (born Voyageur) were both 

members of ACFN. 

• Mr. Laviolette worked as an environmental monitor in the area around Kearl Lake 

and the Jackpine Mine, between the years of 2004 and 2008. 


• Mr. Laviolette has been a junior partner in the Tourangeau trapline, RFMA 2172 

for approximately 10-12 years, and will describe his trapping practices. Mr. 

Laviolette will speak about how he continues to use the trapline for traditional 

practices. 

• RFMA 2172 is located to the south and in close proximity to the proposed 

Jackpine Mine Expansion. 

• Mr. Laviolette relied on the area around Kearl Lake and Trapline 2172 when he 

lived in Fort McKay as a place to exercise his traditional lifestyle. 

• Mr. Laviolette will describe his observations that Kearl Lake and the surrounding 

area was an important wildlife area, used by lots of birds, fish, ptarmigan, moose, 

rabbits and beavers and by some marten and lynx. 

• Mr. Laviolette will describe seeing woodland caribou using the marshy area to the 

south of Kearl Lake. 

• Mr. Laviolette will describe traditional activities at Kearl Lake, he has stayed in a 

cabin there, fished summer and winter, shot ducks, geese, and ptarmigan, and 

collected medicines along the shores. 

• Mr. Laviolette will speak about his moose harvesting in the Kearl Lake area. 

• Mr. Laviolette will speak about the practice of sharing the traditional foods he 

harvests with elders. 

• Mr. Laviolette will discuss how important it is to him to be able to engage in 

traditional activities and lifestyle.




Impacts from Industrial Development 

• Mr. Laviolette will speak about the decline in the numbers of animals in the Kearl 

Lake and trapline area. 

• Mr. Laviolette has observed woodland caribou being scared away from the area 

due to helicopter noise. 

• Mr. Laviolette will speak about the impacts on the drinking water from Kearl 

Lake. 

• Mr. Laviolette will speak about the difficulty of access to the trapline where it 

was previously easy to access from Fort McKay. 

• He will speak about how oil sands development has affected bird migration. 

• Mr. Laviolette will speak about the difficulties of being on the trapline now due to 

noise, and 24 hour oil sands operations. 

• Mr. Laviolette will speak about his concerns about how the Jackpine Mine 

Expansion will further affect his ability to access the trapline and surrounding 

area, and on his harvesting practices. 

• Mr. Laviolette will speak about concerns over contamination of wild food, now 

and should the Jackpine Mine Expansion be authorized. 

• He will also speak about his observations on how oil sands development has 

interfered with others’ traditional lifestyle.





LIONEL LEPINE 

Lionel Lepine will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan 




• Lionel Lepine was born in 1977 in Fort McMurray. He grew up in Fort 

Chipewyan and in Fort McMurray. He is an ACFN member. 

• His mother is Patricia Lepine (nee Marcel), an ACFN member, and his father is 

Mathew Lepine, the former Chief of Mikisew. 

• He spent summers on Jackfish Reserve with his late (maternal) grandfather Daniel 

Marcel and grandmother Margaret Marcel, both ACFN members. 


• His maternal grandparents taught him to hunt, fish and trap. They would live off 

the land in the summer time at the Jackfish Reserve. He learned to dry and smoke 

fish and meat from his grandparents. They also used to pick berries in the area 

around Jackfish. 

• Mr. Lepine continues to exercise his right to hunt. 

• Mr. Lepine will discuss his experience working for industry in the context of his 

traditional values. 


• Mr. Lepine will speak to the limited sources of fresh uncontaminated water 

available, as passed on to him orally by his grandfather. 

• He will speak to the changes in water level that he has observed in his lifetime 

around ACFN’s Jackfish Reserve. 

• Mr. Lepine will speak to the difficulty accessing the waterfowl hunting grounds at 

Richardson Lake. 

Dealings with Shell 

• He was hired July 13, 2007 by the Industrial Relations Corporation (IRC) as a 

Traditional Environmental Knowledge Facilitator 

• In his job, he is responsible for the collection and gathering of TEK and archiving 

of it. He also helps facilitate meetings between industry and community members. 

Mr. Lepine authored the 2008 ACFN Traditional Environmental Knowledge and 

Traditional Land Use Study (the “Study”) for the Proposed Shell Jackpine Mine 

Expansion and Pierre River Mine Project. 

• Mr. Lepine will speak to the input provided by Shell into various drafts of the 

Study.




• Mr. Lepine will speak to the consultation process between ACFN and Shell, 

including that alleged by Shell, relating to telephone conversations and meetings 

that Mr. Lepine was directly involved in. 

• Mr. Lepine will speak to his understanding of the impact of the Study on Shell’s 

project. 

• Mr. Lepine will speak to the process by which Shell arranged meetings, and the 

substance of Shell’s meetings, with ACFN elders. 

• Mr. Lepine will also speak to the manner in which Shell solicited ACFN members 

to work in the Jackpine Mine Expansion Project.





LISA KING 

Ms King will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan First 


application. 

• Ms King is an ACFN member and an active land user. 

• Ms. King will describe her personal experiences carrying on traditional activities 

on the land with her family, her observations of changes in ACFN’s traditional 

lands and her concerns regarding the ability of current and future ACFN 

generations to exercise their rights and practice their culture. 

• As Executive Director of the ACFN Industry Relations Corporation (“IRC”), Ms. 

King oversees all aspects of the IRC, including consultation activities with the 

Crown and industry, she will describe the structure and mandate of the IRC. 

• As an Environmental Specialist for the IRC from 2004 – 2009, Ms. King dealt 

with consultation issues, directly and indirectly, through reviewing 

environmental reports and regulatory matters, participating in regional 

environmental and other planning committees, and through working with 

governments on environmental matters on behalf of ACFN. 

• Ms. King has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Conservation Sciences 

from the University of Alberta. 

• In addition to participating directly in consultations described herein, Ms. King 

has reviewed many of ACFN’s consultation-related files. 

Crown-led Processes 

• ACFN has participated in a number of Crown-led processes including, without 

limitation, the Lower Athabasca River In Stream Flow Needs (“IFN”) process – 

Phases I and II; the Cumulative Effects Management Association (“CEMA”); 

the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (“LARP”) and the Land Use Framework 

(“LUF”); the Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program, (“RAMP”), the Muskeg 

River Interim Management Framework, Canada’s Draft Caribou Recovery 

Strategy, the Aboriginal Multi-Stakeholder Process for Oil Sands; Mineable Oil 

Sands Strategy; and Comprehensive Regional Infrastructure Sustainability 

Program (“CRISP”); the Public Lands Act Regulation (“PLAR”); Alberta’s 

Woodland Caribou Policy and through various project specific processes 

involving federal and provincial Crown ministries, departments and agencies. 

• In these processes, ACFN has stated its concerns about the direct and cumulative 

adverse impacts of development on their constitutionally-protected rights as well 

as the adverse downstream impacts of development on air and water quality, 

water quantity, wildlife, health and other matters. 

• ACFN has repeatedly raised the need for those processes to properly consider the 

constitutionally-protected rights of the First Nation as well as for the need to 

conduct proper baseline and other studies, with the participation of ACFN, to 

1




properly understand the resource and ecosystem needs now and in the future for 

ACFN to meaningfully exercise their rights within their traditional territory. 

• ACFN has sought meaningful consultation and accommodation, including 

protection of the resources upon which the exercise of Treaty Rights depends, 

through meetings, submissions and in correspondence with various Crown 

representatives and agencies. 

• Ms. King will describe ACFN IRC’s understanding of Crowns’ general 

responses to the concerns and needs raised by ACFN. 

Traditional Land and Resource Use Plan 

• ACFN believes a Traditional Land and Resource Use Management Plan 

(“TLRUMP”) is required in order to provide information necessary to understand 

ACFN’s land and resource uses, interests and rights in Provincial and Federal 

land and resource management planning, decision‐making and consultation 

processes. 

• Ms. King will describe how each of Shell, Alberta Environment, and Canada 

were made aware that ACFN viewed a TLRUMP as necessary information prior 

to the determination of the Jackpine Mine Expansion and Pierre River Mine 

applications. 

• Ms. King will explain how, despite the significant resources expended by ACFN 

to enable the TLRUMP, and Crown acknowledgment of its value, no concrete 

steps were taken by either of Alberta or Canada to implement or support the 

development of a TLRUMP. 

Consultation with Shell as Crown delegate 

• Ms. King has been actively involved in ACFN’s engagement with Shell since 

2009. 

• ACFN has raised concerns about the direct and cumulative impacts of each of the 

proposed JME and PRM on its constitutionally-protected rights and traditional 

uses as well as downstream impacts of development and other matters. 

• Ms. King will speak to the consultation process with Shell, and its outcomes. 

2





MARVIN BERT L’HOMMECOURT 

Mr. L’Hommecourt will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan First 


application. 


• Mr. L’Hommecourt was born at Poplar Point Reserve on July 13, 1954. He and his 

paternal grandfather, Moise L’Hommecourt, were raised on the Poplar Point reserve. 

• Mr. L’Hommecourt went to residential school at about 7 years old, but returned to 

Poplar Point each summer; he continues to return each summer. 

• Mr. L’Hommecourt’s father and paternal grandparents were ACFN members. 

• Mr. L’Hommecourt’s mother, Annie L’Hommecourt, was a member of the ACFN and 

Fort McKay First Nations at different times in her life. 


• Mr. L’Hommecourt will speak about ACFN practices of hunting, trapping, fishing, 

and gathering various species of plants and animals and his experiences engaging in 

these practices. 

• He will describe his experiences learning and carrying on traditional activities on the 

land with his family and other ACFN members. 

• Mr. L’Hommecourt will speak about ACFN use of waterways and lands in ACFN’s 

territories. 

• He will explain how he has taught his children traditional ACFN practices on the 

land. 

Cultural matters 

• Mr. L’Hommecourt will speak about how knowing how to survive off the land is 

important to ACFN culture. 

• Mr. L’Hommecourt will speak to the need for traditional foods. 

• Mr. L’Hommecourt will describe the impacts on him and his family of witnessing the 

destruction of the lands they were connected to. 

Impacts on Traditional Activities and on the land and wildlife in ACFN Territory 


development. 

• He will describe the changes he has observed in the abundance and quality of 

wildlife, fish and other resources. 

• He will also speak to the decrease in hunting, trapping, gathering and fishing areas in 

ACFN territory. 

• Mr. L’Hommecourt has observed an increase in the amount of non-First Nations 

people using ACFN’s traditional lands.




• Mr. L’Hommecourt no longer eats fish from the Athabasca River due to pollution and 

garbage. 

• He will explain how it it increasingly difficult to travel the Athabasca River by boat. 

• He will describe how areas of land he and his family used for traditional activities are 

no longer available due to gates and development. 

Traditional Use on Mr. L’Hommecourt’s Trapline, RFMA 1714 

• Mr. L’Hommecourtholds RFMA 1714, which his mother held before him. He and his 

family continue to actively exercise their Treaty 8 rights on the remaining useable 

lands within the trapline. 

Development and Industry on and around the L’Hommecourt Trapline 

• Many companies have projects, infrastructure, and camps on and around the trapline; 

this has affected the trapline and Mr. L’Hommecourt’s ability to use it. 

• People from work camps have trespassed on the trapline, damaging buildings, taking 

animals, and leaving garbage. 

• Places where Mr. L’Hommecourt used to camp have been cleared, ponds and creeks 

have been drained, and the land has been damaged in other ways. 

• The number of animals on the trapline has been severely reduced. 

• Mr. L’Hommecourt will describe how the proposed Jackpine Mine Expansion would 

affect his ability to exercise his Treaty 8 rights in and around the trapline.





MAX JOE DERANGER 

Max Deranger will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan 




• He was born in Uranium City on July 6, 1963 and has been an ACFN member 

since birth. 

• His parents are Theresa and Isadore Deranger. 

• He grew up between Fort Chipewyan and Uranium City. He went to Residential 

School in Fort Chipewyan from 1969 to 1974. After that, he lived on the family 

trapline by Carswell Lake in Northern Saskatchewan, approximately due south 

east of Fort Chipewyan. 

• In 1975, he moved to Fort McMurray. He lived with his mother and father. 

• As an adult, he has lived in Fort Chipewyan twice – from 1993-94 and again from 

2003 to 2008. 


• Mr. Deranger will speak about ACFN practices of hunting, trapping, gathering 

and fishing. 

• Mr. Deranger will speak about ACFN use of waterways and lands in ACFN’s 

southern and northern territories. 

• Mr. Deranger will also speak to the use of lands in and around Fort McMurray 

and Fort McKay, and in specific the lands around Kearl Lake, north of Fort 

McKay. 

• He will describe his personal experiences carrying on traditional activities on the 

land with his family and with other members of ACFN and Fort McKay, and what 

others have passed along to him. 


• Mr. Deranger will speak about the changes he has observed in the water levels on 

the Athabasca River, Lake Athabasca and other water bodies in ACFN territory. 



• Mr. Deranger will also speak about the changes in the area around Kearl Lake and 

the impacts he has noticed. 

• Mr. Deranger will speak about the sense of helplessness people feel about oil 

sands expansion and the impacts it is having on ACFN culture. 

• He will also speak about his and other ACFN members’ lost connection with the 

land taken up for development.





NICOLE NICHOLLS 

Ms Nicole Nicholls will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca 



• Ms. Nicholls worked for the ACFN IRC from 2008-2012 as a project manager. 

• In that role, Ms. Nicholls participated in a variety of crown-led and projectspecific 

consultation processes, and in 2009 she was assigned to manage 

consultation with Shell, Alberta, and Canada with respect to the proposed 

Jackpine Mine Expansion and Pierre River Mine. 

Crown-led processes 

• ACFN has participated in a number of Crown-led consultation processes 

including, without limitation: the Lower Athabasca River In Stream Flow Needs 

(“IFN”) process – PhaseII; the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (“LARP”) and 

the Land Use Framework (“LUF”); Alberta’s Draft Caribou Recovery Strategy; 

and Comprehensive Regional Infrastructure Sustainability Program (“CRISP”); 

Cumulative Effects Management Framework; the Public Lands Act Regulation 

(“PLAR”); and through various project specific processes involving federal and 

provincial Crown ministries, departments and agencies. 

• Throughout these processes, ACFN has raised concerns about the direct and 

cumulative adverse impacts of development on their constitutionally-protected 

rights as well as the adverse downstream impacts of development on air and 

water quality, water quantity, wildlife, and other matters. 

• In these various processes, which have involved the Government of Alberta as 

well as the Government of Canada in certain instances, ACFN has tried to raise 

the need for those processes to properly consider the constitutionally-protected 

rights of the First Nation as well as for the need to conduct proper baseline and 

other studies, with the participation of ACFN, to properly understand the resource 

and ecosystem needs now and in the future for ACFN to meaningfully exercise 

their rights within their traditional territory. 

• ACFN has raised the need for meaningful consultation and accommodation and 

protection of the resources upon which the exercise of Treaty Rights depends 

through submissions to and meetings and in correspondence with various Crown 

representatives and agencies. 

• Ms. Nicholls will describe her understanding of the Crowns’ general responses to 

the concerns and needs raised by ACFN.




Traditional Land and Resource Use Plan 

• ACFN believes a Traditional Land and Resource Use Management Plan 

(“TLRUMP”) is required in order to provide information necessary to understand 

ACFN’s land and resource uses, interests and rights in Provincial and Federal 

land and resource management planning, decision‐making and consultation 

processes. 

• Each of Shell, Alberta Environment, and Canada were made aware that ACFN 

viewed a TLRUMP as necessary information prior to the determination of the 

Jackpine Mine Expansion and Pierre River Mine applications. 

• Despite the significant resources expended by ACFN to enable the TLRUMP, 

and Crown acknowledgment of its value, no concrete steps were taken by either 

of Alberta or Canada to implement or support the development of a TLRUMP. 

Consultation with Shell as Alberta’s Delegate 

• Ms. Nicholls has been actively involved in ACFN’s engagement with Shell since 

fall 2008. 

• ACFN has raised concerns about the direct and cumulative impacts of each of the 

proposed JME and PRM on its constitutionally-protected rights and traditional 

uses as well as downstream impacts of development and other matters. 

• Ms. Nicholls will speak to the consultation process with Shell, and its outcomes.





PATRICK WILLIAM MARCEL 

Mr. Patrick William Marcel will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca 




• Mr. Marcel was born on February 2, 1938 at Jackfish and is an ACFN member. 

• Mr. Marcel’s parents, Benjamin and Mary Marcel, were ACFN members. 

• His grandmother was named Ester Piche and was from ACFN, and his 

grandfather was named Narcisse Marcel and was also ACFN. Jonas Laviolette 

was Mr. Marcel’s great uncle. 

• As a child and young person would go out on the land with his father and 

grandfather, and Mr. Marcel continues to go out on the land when he can. 

• Mr. Marcel has observed significant changes in ACFN traditional lands and 

economy over his lifetime. 

ACFN’s Efforts to protect its Traditional Lands and Resources 

• Mr. Marcel will discuss the importance of traditional resources to ACFN, 

including but not limited to buffalo, caribou and rivers. 

• Mr. Marcel will discuss Chief Alexandre Laviolette and Chief Jonas’ Laviolette’s 

efforts to have land protected for ACFN use. 

• Mr. Marcel has been active in several initiatives such as lobbying for protection of 

Richardson Backcountry, Nih Boghodi, CEMA, In Flow Needs, and various 

Crown and industry led processes, in an effort to protect ACFN’s traditional lands 

and ability to exercise rights. 

• Mr. Marcel will discuss issues regarding consultation with the Crown and with 

third parties. 

Other Matters 

• Mr. Marcel will discuss the lack of the Crown’s implementation of Treaty 8 

• Mr. Marcel will speak to the issues arising from residential schools and forced 

relocation of ACFN members.





RAYMOND GREGORY CARDINAL 

Raymond Cardinal will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca 




• Mr. Raymond Cardinal was born on June 8 1965 at Fort Chipewyan. He lived 

there until he was 20, then moved to Fort McMurray. He lived on Fort McKay 

First Nation Indian Reserve from 2004 – 2011. 

• Mr. Cardinal’s mother’s maiden name is Mary Rose Bruno. She was born around 

1939 and was an ACFN member. Her parents are Francis Bruno, born around 

1910, and Helen Bruno, born around 1900, and were members of ACFN. Mr. 

Cardinal grew up with his parents and this set of grandparents. 

• Mr. Cardinal’s father was George Henry Cardinal, born around 1934, and his 

father was Métis. 


• Mr. Cardinal will speak about the importance to him and his family of the 

Athabasca River and the lands and waters on either side for transportation, fresh 

water, and to harvest animals and plants. 

• He will speak about the importance of creeks flowing down from the Birch 

Mountains to the Athabasca as important places for traditional medicines. 

• Mr. Cardinal will speak about how he has travelled on the Athabasca River 

starting at an early age, and what he learned from his family about traditional 

spots for hunting, fishing, berry picking, medicines and trapping along the River 

and on the land on both sides of the River. 

• Mr. Cardinal will also speak about he continues to return to those places his 

parents and grandparents showed him and continues to exercise his Treaty 8 

rights. 

• Mr. Cardinal will speak about his annual traditional hunt for migrating birds like 

ducks, geese, and grey and white waivies with family and friends every spring. 

• Mr. Cardinal will also speak about the other animals he hunts for, including 

moose, bison, deer, rabbits, chickens, and beavers. 

• He will speak about his traditional gathering practices, which include rat root, 

sweet grass, mint, cat tails, willow fungus and berries like blueberries, cranberries 

and Saskatoon berries. 

• Mr. Cardinal will speak about his traditional fishing practices for species such as 

whitefish, northern pike and pickerel.




• Mr. Cardinal will speak about his experience taking young ACFN people out on 

the land on traditional hunts , how that contributes to learning ACFN culture and 

traditional ways and the importance of having enough accessible places in order 

for youth to learn ACFN culture. 

• Mr. Cardinal will speak about the species of plants and animals that he has 

harvested in the area of the proposed Jackpine mine expansion 

• Mr. Cardinal will speak about the tradition of sharing what he harvests with his 

family, and with Elders who cannot access the traditional foods that they need. 

Changes Observed in ACFN Traditional Territory 

• Mr. Cardinal will speak about having to go further north for traditional harvesting 

areas. He will speak about the areas he will no longer hunt, fish and gather in 

because of industrial development, tailings ponds, mines, noise, gates, and 

worries over contamination. Further, he will speak about how he has had to shift 

to other areas due to industrial development and the costs of doing so. 

• Mr. Cardinal will speak about the drop in water levels he has increasingly noticed 

on the Athabasca River. 

• He will speak to how lower water levels and poor water quality have affected the 

traditional way of life along the Athabasca River, and Mr. Cardinal’s ability to 

provide food for his family. Mr. Cardinal will speak about his observations of 

how lower quantity and quality of water have affected the fish, rabbits, chickens, 

moose, deer, buffalo, and traditional medicines. 

• Mr. Cardinal will speak about the few places that you can obtain fresh water as a 

result of industrial development. 

• Mr. Cardinal will speak about the unusual growths found on wildlife harvested 

around the Fort McKay River and his aversion to harvesting wildlife around oils 

sand mines and tailings ponds. 

• Mr. Cardinal will express his concerns and observations about the effects of oil 

sands development on migratory birds, particularly along the Athabasca River. 

• He will also speak about how non-First Nations people are hunting in ACFN’s 

traditional lands and how it creates competition for food, safety issues, and has 

resulted in garbage being left on the land. 

• Mr. Cardinal will speak to his observations about reclamation planning at Shell’s 

Muskeg River Mine, how he had previously used the area for hunting and 

gathering, the impact it had on him when he saw the effect of the mine on the 

land, and will speak about the suitability of reclaimed sites for traditional uses. 

• He will speak to the impact the Jackpine Mine expansion will have on his use of 

the land and waterways. 

• Mr. Cardinal will speak about the impact that the Jackpine-Pierre River 

compensation lake will have on his use of hunting and gathering in the area, and 

the impact it will have on the bison that use the area. 

• Mr. Cardinal will speak about the reasons a fish compensation lake will not be 

used by him and other ACFN members.




• Mr. Cardinal will speak about the impact security gates and fences have on his 

ability and desire to practice his traditional way of life.





RENE BRUNO 

Mr. Rene Bruno will give the following evidence on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan 




• Mr. Rene Bruno is an ACFN member, he was born in 1934. He was born and 

raised at Jackfish and lived there until he moved to Fort Chipewyan when his 

children became school aged. He would return to the trapline in the winter time. 

• Mr. Bruno’s mother was named Mary Ann Laviolette, she was the daughter of 

Chief Alexandre Laviolette and was an ACFN member. 

• Mr. Bruno’s father was named Napoleon Bruno and he was also an ACFN 

member. 

Treaty 8 

• Mr. Bruno’s mother was an eye witness to the signing of Treaty 8 at Fort 

Chipewyan and told Mr. Bruno what happened. He also learned about it from the 

Elders. 

• Mr. Bruno also learned about the events surrounding the signing of Treaty 8 from 

his grandfather Chief Laviolette and from eye witnesses Fred Daniels and Marie 

Mercredi. Fred Daniels was a translator for the Chipewyan people. 

Traditional Activities and Resources 

• Mr. Bruno lived off the land and for many decades earned his income from the 

land, including by trapping. He began trapping when he was twelve years old. 

• Mr. Bruno has travelled and practiced his rights extensively in the traditional 

lands. 

• Mr. Bruno does not currently hold a registered trapline because several years ago 

young people at ASRD told him he would need to take training to learn to be a 

trapper in order to get a license. 

• Muskeg is important to support traditional activities because it cleans water, and 

animals and people like it. 

• Water is required for traditional resources like muskrats, birds, and fish. 

Impacts to ACFN traditional lands 

• Mr. Bruno has witnessed many changes in the traditional lands over his lifetime. 

• Mr. Bruno witnessed the devastation caused by lower water levels after the 

Bennet Dam was constructed. 

• Mr. Bruno has observed water levels have gotten even lower over the past 15-20 

years, and especially over the last few years. 

• Low water levels prevent Mr. Bruno from accessing preferred harvesting sites, 

and from travelling around the traditional lands.




• Some other preferred places are still accessible, but it can be difficult and 

dangerous to go to them because the water is low. 

• Mr. Bruno used to travel frequently on the Athabasca River. He no longer travels 

on the Athabasca River because the water is too low and its dangerous. 

• Mr. Bruno has observed an increasing number of non-native people using 

ACFN’s traditional lands. 

• Mr. Bruno has observed changes to water quality. 

• Mr. Bruno has visited a ‘reclaimed’ site at an oil sands mine and does not believe 

that companies can put muskeg back, or make the land the way it was, or that 

animals will come back to ‘reclaimed’ sites. 

• Mr. Bruno has attended meetings and site visits with industry. Companies want to 

show Elders good things and tell them that they are not doing anything wrong, but 

what they are doing is wrong.





ROY LADOUCEUR 

Mr. ROY LADOUCEUR will give the following evidence on behalf of himself, his way 

of life, and the people who live in the North, including the Athabasca Chipewyan First 


application. 


• Mr. Ladouceur was born on March 30, 1954 in Fort Chipewyan. 

• He grew up at Richardson Lake, and attended school in Fort Chipewyan from the 

age of approximately 8-16. 

• Jonas Laviolette was his great grandfather, the former Chief of ACFN. 

• Edward Ladouceur (Métis) and the late Florence Cardinal (ACFN) are his parents. 


• Mr. Ladouceur will speak about ACFN practices of hunting, trapping, gathering 

and fishing. 


activities on the land, including hunting, trapping and gathering various species of 

plants and animals. 

• Mr. Ladouceur will speak about living on Trapline 2863, located south of Poplar 

Point reserve on the east side of the Athabasca River and how important it is to 

him to live on the land. 

• Mr. Ladouceur will speak about his personal experiences and observations 

hunting throughout the area that is proposed for the Jackpine Mine Expansion 

Project. 

• Mr. Ladouceur will also speak about the various traditional medicines, roots, and 

plants he harvests and the areas that he harvests them. 

• H will speak about his spiritual connection with the land and animals that support 

his traditional lifestyle. 

• Mr. Ladouceur will speak about the traditions of sharing harvests with Elders. 

Concerns and Observations about Oil Sands Development; Changes in the Land 

• Mr. Ladouceur will speak about the work he has done for oil sand companies and 

how that work has impacted him. 

• Mr. Ladouceur will speak about his personal observations of the effects of oil 

sands operations on the land and animals. 

• Mr. Ladouceur will speak about how oil sands development severs and impacts 

ACFN spiritual connection with the land and the traditional medicines that are 

harvested.




• He will also speak about the increase in human traffic that accompanies oil sands 

developments and his concerns with building a compensation lake on the west 

side of the Athabasca River. 

• Mr. Ladouceur will speak about the importance of muskeg to Woodland Caribou, 

Moose and other animals, and how Shell’s proposed area will impact the muskeg, 

particularly around McLelland Lake. 

• He will also speak about the shrinking areas that ACFN members have left to 

practice traditional activities as a result of oil sands development and how 

reclamation is not an answer.

ATHABASCA CHIPEWYAN FIRST NATION SUBMISSION ERCB ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?