Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

The challenge of reconciliation • 357we have all been given original instructions on how to be a human being. Wehave great responsibilities as people to take care of the Earth, to speak on behalfof Mother Earth. That is our responsibility and that’s the kind of leadership thatwe must reflect as a people. 266That same day, Chief Ian Campbell of the Squamish Nation said,I want to acknowledge my grandparents and my mentors for their generosity inteaching us our connections to our lands and our territories. Right now we’repreparing back home for a canoe journey as our young people are training torepresent our people on their journey to Bella Bella in a couple of weeks.… Anumber of families are travelling all up and down the coast to celebrate theresurgence of our identity, of our culture. 267In the face of global warming, growing economic inequities, and conflicts overlarge-scale economic development projects, there is an emerging consensus that theland that sustains all of us must be protected for future generations. In the wake of theSupreme Court of Canada Tsilhqot’in decision, Aboriginal peoples, corporations, andgovernments must find new ways to work together. Speaking to local community leadersat the Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention in September 2014,Tsilhqot’in Chief Percy Guichon said,We do live side-by-side and we need to work on a relationship to create orpromote a common understanding among all our constituents … we need tofind the best way forward to consult with each other, regardless of what legalobligations might exist. I mean, that’s just neighbourly, right? ... We share a lot ofcommon interests in areas like resource development. We need to find ways towork together, to support one another on these difficult topics. 268In 1977, the Report of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry recommended that aproposed natural gas pipeline down the Mackenzie Valley in the Northwest Territoriesnot be built before Aboriginal land claims in the region were resolved and environmentalconcerns were addressed. Justice Thomas Berger, who led the inquiry, identifiedthe potentially devastating consequences that building a pipeline through theNorth would have for Dene and Inuvialuit peoples and for the fragile ecosystems. Hisobservations, made almost forty years ago, foreshadow similar controversies and conflictsover proposed pipelines still occurring in various regions of Canada as the trchas prepared this final report. 269The political and legal landscape has shifted significantly since Justice Berger issuedhis report in 1977. As Canada maps its economic future in regions covered by historicalTreaties, modern land-claims agreements, and unceded Aboriginal title, governmentsand industry must now recognize that accommodating the rights of Aboriginalpeoples is paramount to Canada’s long-term economic sustainability. Governmentsaim to secure the necessary economic stability and growth to ensure prosperity for all