Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 01, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A10 A 10 FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2020 ? WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMNEWS I CANADA SMITHERS, B.C. - Hereditary chiefs who oppose a natural gas pipeline in northern British Columbia say they will sign an agreement with the federal and provincial governments that affirms their title and rights. At the centre of the dispute is Wet'suwet'en opposition to the con- struction of the Coastal GasLink pipe- line through their territory, which set off demonstrations and blockades that shut down large parts of the national economy in February. A joint statement from the govern- ments and Wet'suwet'en chiefs released Thursday says they remain committed to implementing the rights and title of the First Nation through the memoran- dum of understanding. No details of the memorandum, which was agreed to in February, have been released. The statement says there's a lot of work ahead in the negotiation process, including how the three governments will work together. The Wet'suwet'en have invited B.C.'s Indigenous relations minister, Scott Fraser, and Carolyn Bennett, the feder- al minister of Crown-Indigenous rela- tions, to sign the agreement on May 14. "We look forward to advancing this important work to implement Wet'suwet'en rights and title as three equal governments," the statement says. "As negotiations proceed on the affirmation and implementation of Wet'suwet'en rights and title, we will move forward with transparency and openness, and will be further engaging with Wet'suwet'en house groups, neigh- bouring nations, local governments, stakeholders and the public." Although details have not been made public, the memorandum has been framed as addressing broader land claims rather than an agreement over the pipeline. It was reached after days of discussions in Smithers and work on the pipeline resumed after it was an- nounced. Protests across the country disrupted passenger and freight train service for more than three weeks. Coastal GasLink is building a 670-km pipeline from northeastern B.C. to an LNG Canada export terminal in Kiti- mat, but the hereditary house chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en say it has no authority without their consent. The Wet'suwet'en are governed by both a traditional hereditary chief sys- tem and elected band councils. A ma- jority of its councils have approved the pipeline, but some of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs oppose it running through their traditional territory. The dispute also involves other un- settled land rights and title issues, in- cluding who has the right to negotiate with governments and corporations, the fact that the land is not covered by a treaty and remains unceded, and a 1997 court case that recognized the hereditary chiefs' authority and the exclusive right of the Wet'suwet'en peoples to the land but did not specify the boundaries. The pipeline first generated wide- spread national protests in January 2019 when the RCMP enforced an in- junction obtained by the company to dismantle obstacles on a remote logging road in northern B.C. Larger protests were held across the country in February after the RCMP enforced a second injunction. - The Canadian Press Wet'suwet'en chiefs say they'll sign deal with government HALIFAX - For years to come, the vil- lage of Portapique, N.S., will likely be defined by tragedy. As the starting point for one of the worst mass killings in Canadian his- tory, the rural enclave on Cobequid Bay has joined a long list of small commun- ities that have become synonymous with horror and grief. Columbine, Sandy Hook, May- erthorpe - the list goes on. If there's an atlas for violence and pain, Portapique has been added to it. The 100 residents of the devastated rural hamlet already know this. Christine Mills, who lives close to where a gunman disguised as a Moun- tie started a murderous rampage last week that claimed 22 victims, says she fibbed the other day when a caller to her small business asked where it was located. "I didn't say Portapique for the sim- ple reason that I knew there would be questions," she said. "I know that for the next while, when I say the word - that I live in Portapique - people are going to say, 'Oh my gosh, that's where that horrible stuff happened.'" This is the new reality for Mills and her neighbours. "But I'm hoping that, in time, people will get past that and remember us for something else," she says. Though it may seem unlikely, experts say there is good reason to believe Portapique could one day shed this ter- rible stigma and become a symbol of hope. Will Rifkin, a professor at the Uni- versity of Newcastle in Australia, says that's what happened to Port Arthur, a small town on Australia's island state of Tasmania. On April 28, 1996, a man armed with semi-automatic weapons murdered 35 people and wounded 23 others there be- fore he was arrested and sent to prison. In the weeks that followed, the mas- sacre prompted a national conversation about gun control. The Australian government re- sponded with a compulsory gun buy- back program and legislation that includes a ban on all semi-automatic rifles and semi-automatic and pump- action shotguns. The senseless slaughter in Port Ar- thur, home to 250 people, "stimulated a national movement that made the country safer," said Rifkin, who holds the chair in applied regional econom- ics at the Hunter Research Foundation Centre. To this day, gun control advocates consider Australia's legislation as the gold standard. "So there's something national that could come from what happened in Portapique," Rifkin said. "It may not be a gun control. It may be something about mental health. Maybe stricter laws about impersonating a police officer." On Tuesday, a senior Mountie con- firmed the Nova Scotia gunman was armed with several semi-automatic handguns and two semi-automatic rifles when he killed 13 people in Portapique on April 18 and another nine people the following day in several other commun- ities. His victims included an RCMP of- ficer, two nurses, two correctional of- ficers, a family of three, a teacher and some of his neighbours in Portapique. An RCMP officer fatally shot 51-year- old Gabriel Wortman at a gas station in Enfield, N.S., about 90 kilometres south of Portapique at 11:26 a.m. on April 19. The following day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pointed to the "sense- less violence" in Nova Scotia before reminding Canadians that his govern- ment has committed to strengthening gun control and banning military-style assault rifles. The governing Liberals have also said owners of legally purchased firearms that fall under the ban would receive fair-market compensations for their weapons as part of a buyback program similar to the one in Australia. Meanwhile, the residents of Portapique have begun what will be for some a long and agonizing process, says Simon Sherry, a professor in the depart- ment of psychology and neuroscience at Dalhousie University in Halifax. "The psychological harms stemming from homicide are immense and can often involve post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or prolonged and complicated forms of grief," said Sherry, who is also a psychologist. "That population will be at very high risk for a range of serious mental health problems." He said federal and provincial offi- cials should focus on offering mental health services to the local population. "When you have a group of people who have been traumatized and sub- jected to shocking and horrific events, it's often the case that those difficulties don't stay with one generation and can be passed on to the next," he said. Like Rifkin, Sherry says Portapique's agony could prompt a call to action. "The events that happened there could be pivotal in Canada if we start making policies that help prevent these types of events from ever happening again," he said, citing proposals for a so-called red-flag law. Such legislation would allow doctors, educators and other professionals to ask the courts to remove guns from people who are considered at risk of hurting themselves or others, which would re- quire a breach of confidentiality. As well, Sherry said a public inquiry into the case could raise public aware- ness about the factors that lead to mass shootings. "I'm talking about using these hor- rific events as a way to promote some incremental change," he said, noting that the events last week in Nova Scotia should be viewed as a systemic problem and not the actions of just one disturbed person. "These events could be the impetus and the catalyst for societal change that helps reduce gun violence." - The Canadian Press ANDREW VAUGHAN / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES A memorial pays homage to the victims of the mass shooting in Portapique. The Nova Scotia town joins the list of other places marked by tragedy: Sandy Hook, Columbine, Mayerthorpe. MICHAEL MACDONALD Nova Scotia town to carry weight of tragedy for years F ORT MCMURRAY, Alta. - An ice jam had shrunk to almost half its size Thursday after causing major flooding earlier in the week that forced 13,000 people from their homes in Fort McMurray. Officials said the blockage on the Athabasca River was about 13 kilo- metres long - down from 25 km two days before - and water levels had dropped significantly on the Athabasca and Clearwater rivers in and around the northern Alberta city. Alberta Environment Minister Jason Nixon said the improvement was al- lowing municipal officials to start plan- ning for the return of evacuees. "With the river ice continuing to melt and flow downstream, municipal au- thorities are now in the planning stages for re-entry," Nixon said. "It's important to remember that we still have flood water in these commun- ities and our first priority is to protect the communities threatened by flooding." The Fort McKay First Nation, about 60 km north of the city, reported a death related to the flooding. RCMP said officers were called to help two people stranded on the Athabasca River, northeast of the hamlet of Fort McKay. The two men had been on ATVs on a trail when water levels surged. They were able to hold on to a log until they could be rescued, said police. Both were taken to hospital in Fort McMurray, but the older man died. Two women, two children and two dogs were also rescued from a nearby cabin. Further north, 450 residents from Fort Vermilion and Tallcree First Na- tion had to leave earlier this week due to another ice jam on the Peace River. "The flooding danger in Fort Vermilion has passed, though flood levels do remain in Beaver Ranch," Mackenzie County Reeve Josh Knelsen said Thursday. He said crews have started assess- ing the damage and need to ensure the community is safe before anyone is al- lowed back. Knelsen said there was no timeline for residents to return, but the county had arranged a bus tour for evacuees to see the damage. Nixon said the ice jams on the Peace River had released and moved down- stream, where there was some flooding at the Little Red River Settlement. The ice jammed again at Garden River, for- cing about 800 people out. That means more than 14,000 resi- dents were out of their homes on Thurs- day in northern Alberta. Officials said they were still assessing flood damage in Fort McMurray, which is under a second state of local emergency on top of one declared last month because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. "This is a one-in-100 year event," said Mayor Don Scott. "There's never been anything like this - and that's com- bined with the COVID-19 challenges." At least 1,230 structures have been damaged, he said. That's almost half the number of buildings and homes lost in a wildfire that forced the evacuation of the entire city in May 2016. The municipality's director of emer- gency management, Scott Davis, said it will be some time before evacuees can return. "We are. working with (Alberta Health Services), public health and RCMP as we determine what areas we can safely populate," Davis said. "We want to ensure that the critical infrastructure has the ability to with- stand a repopulation in a proper manner." A virtual community townhall was to be held for residents later Thursday to provide an update on the river breakup and flood. Nixon said a number of provincial conditions must be met before evacuees can return. "Those conditions include floodwater no longer being an imminent threat, the availability of critical infrastructure and essential services and hazards in the area being secured," he said. "There is no question that the recov- ery process in this community will be lengthy." - The Canadian Press Planning starts for return of flood evacuees as ice jams break up Fort McMurray flooding begins to subside COLETTE DERWORIZ GREG HALINDA / THE CANADIAN PRESS Sandbags protect the historic Royal Bank Building at the Heritage Village site in Fort McMurray, Alta. A_10_May-01-20_FP_01.indd A10 2020-04-30 10:47 PM ;