We got a few more details yesterday about the agreement reached with the Wet’sutwet’en hereditary chiefs on Sunday, despite a few TV hosts somewhat obtusely demanding to know what it meant for the Coastal GasLink pipeline – despite the fact that it was stated over and over again that this agreement did not have anything to do with that, and that the matter was unresolved. The crux of the agreement was an agreement on how rights and title would be extended for the Wet’suwet’en going forward, meaning that with any future projects, there would be clarity as to who would need to be consulted – which means the hereditary chiefs – and given the new impact assessment process that the Liberals instituted (under the infamous Bill C-69), those consultations begin at the earliest possible moment for these project proposals so that affected First Nations can be brought in from the get-go. What I found especially interesting was that Carolyn Bennett said that this was in accordance with UNDRIP principles, as free, prior and informed consent (which again she stressed was not a veto). And one imagines that this kind of agreement would be a template for others when it comes to unceded territory across the country.

As for Coastal GasLink, work apparently resumed on aspects of the project, but given that some of their permits were pulled by the province’s environmental assessment agency with a demand for more consultations, one supposes that the work is on areas that are outside of Wet’suwet’en territory. Meanwhile, one of the elected chiefs who is in favour of the project was doing the media rounds in Ottawa yesterday, and he said that while his people were discussing the ratification of the new agreement, he said that he was also willing to give up the economic benefits of the pipeline is that was what his people decided that they wanted as part of those discussions. We do know that matriarchs who were in support of the project were also in the meeting between Bennett, her BC counterpart and those hereditary chiefs, so the discussion within the community is very much alive, and we’ll see in a couple of weeks when the ratification process is supposed to be concluded, what the future holds for the pipeline.

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau appeared at a mining conference in Toronto to posit that having a national framework for climate change will help attract investment to Canada.
• Also at the conference, Trudeau announced the government was extending their electric vehicle tax credits, including to off-road vehicles to help industry go greener.
• Trudeau also announced that former prime minister Joe Clark has been appointed as a special envoy to help secure more votes for the UN Security Council seat.
• The government is asking travellers from Iran to self-isolate for two weeks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• Treasury Board president Jean-Yves Duclos scrapped the plan to migrate civilian RCMP employees to the Phoenix pay system.
• Jim Carr announced $18.7 million allocated to help build hydro transmission lines between Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
• The Quebec Superior Court has granted the government four more months to amend the Medical Assistance in Dying regime to comply with its ruling.
• The current supposition is that Iran kept its airspace open the night they shot down Flight PS752 because of the lucrative overflight fees.
• Here’s a legal take on the upcoming Supreme Court of Canada hearings on the carbon price references.
• In a bid to sound tough, Peter MacKay says he wants an October election if he becomes leader. (Timing wise, that can’t actually work).
• Clownish social conservative Richard Décarie says he had no idea his leadership candidacy would be rejected, and that he will rally behind MP Derek Sloan.
• Here’s a look into how Indigenous issues are playing out in the Conservative leadership race so far.
• PEI’s opposition leader, Peter Bevan-Baker, has suddenly realized that he needs to act like an opposition leader and not like he’s in bed with the government. Imagine!
• Kevin Carmichael looks at the possibility of a mild recession brought about by COVID-19, and what the Bank of Canada may do about it.
• Susan Delacourt delves into the StatsCan election survey, and what the increased voter turnout meant in 2015 versus 2019 for Justin Trudeau.

Odds and ends:

My latest Loonie Politics video sizes up what the Conservative leadership race looks like now that the players are known (Rudy Husney was not confirmed when filmed).

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