Native bands ask court to block pipeline Updated at 4:41 PM
By Mary Agnes Welch
Some Manitoba bands have asked the court to quash a plan to build an oil pipeline through southern Manitoba, saying the federal government failed to consult with First Nations or offer compensation.
The seven Treaty One bands, including Brokenhead, Peguis and Long Plain First Nations, filed an appeal for judicial review in federal court Friday. They're asking a judge to stop a plan to build a pipeline from just east of Portage la Prairie to the American border that would pump oil from Alberta to the United States. The line is an addition to a natural gas pipeline that already runs through western Manitoba and will be converted to oil. The mainline cuts through Treaty One territory, and could damage the bands' fishing and hunting grounds, sacred burial sites and their ability to enlarge their reserves to the size promised them under the 1871 treaty.
And the bands argue that Supreme Court decisions over the last several years oblige Ottawa to consult with First Nations, which the federal government failed to do despite repeated letters of request from the bands.
"You are not going anywhere with this oil until you sit down with us," said Roseau River Chief Terry Nelson.
