Indigenous rally in northern Alberta says energy industry is vital for their community

Indigenous supporters of Canada’s oil and gas industry rallied in Lac La Biche, Alta. on Sunday to stress the importance of the energy sector in their day-to-day lives.

Rene Houle from Whitefish Lake First Nation said the energy industry generates businesses that employ hundreds of people in his community, with the money being spent at local car dealerships, movie theatres and other businesses in neighbouring towns, stimulating the economy.

“We would not have a proper living. We would not have a meaningful way of life, a healthy way of life,” Houle said, adding that the oil and gas sector deters people from becoming burdens on the social-welfare and justice systems.

“Alone, our First Nation would not be able to generate that.”

Organizers of the event, the Region One Aboriginal Business Association which represents northern Alberta Indigenous businesses, stressed the event was non-partisan and not affiliated with the “yellow vest” events.

Attendees were asked to wear blue fire-retardant coveralls and hard hats, in contrast to the “yellow-vest” events, where demonstrators wear yellow, high-visibility vests similar to recent protests in France, but are also attached to anti-United Nations sentiments.

The rally also received support from Rally 4 Resources and Canada Action – both of which have previously organized pro-oil rallies and convoys in Western Canada.

The event began with performance by Indigenous drummers, singers and dancers, as well as Metis jiggers from Amisk Community School on Beaver Lake Cree Nation.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a business owner or a worker or an aboriginal community. We’re all in this together,” Lee Thom, a councillor from Kikino Metis Settlement, said to a crowd gathered in a recreation centre in the hamlet in Alberta.

Bill C-69, the federal legislation which critics argue will make it more difficult for new pipelines and energy projects to get approval, was mentioned during the rally.

While organizers and speakers said they weren’t completely opposed to the bill, they argued it needs to be amended to better balance economic development and the need to protect the environment, traditional Indigenous lands and harvesting rights.

“The way it is right now, in its current state, is devastating for oil and gas,” Shawn McDonald, president of the Region One Aboriginal Business Association, told the rally.

Omer Moghrabi, Lac La Biche mayor, said Canadians need to resist critics south of the border who believe the country isn’t doing enough to protect the environment while developing its oil and gas sector.

“We have 150 bodies of water in our town,” Moghrabi told participants. “We are environmental stewards and so are our producers.”