Chief Gerry Cheezie of Smith's Landing First Nation plans to lead a demonstration at the NWT Legislative Assembly building on Feb. 25 against the proposed Teck Resources' Frontier oilsands mine project in Alberta.
"I'm a bit dismayed that the government of the NWT is not taking a position on this project when it's going to affect the health of our people that live along the Mackenzie River and the river itself," said Cheezie.
"If the Teck project goes ahead it's going to be 40 years of pollution flowing down that river affecting the Mackenzie River and the people that live along it. So far they've been silent. The premier and cabinet have got to defend our people," he said.
Cheezie has emerged as a leading voice of opposition to the proposed scheme in northern Alberta, which could at its peak activity mine about 260,000 barrels per day of bitumen from an area south of Fort Chipewyan and west of the Athabasca River. It would also be located just east of Wood Buffalo National Park.
The Smith's Landing chief is concerned about the risk of downstream pollution since the Athabasca River flows into the Slave River – beside his community – and eventually into Great Slave Lake. His community lies in Alberta just south of Fort Smith and the NWT border.
Cheezie has also urged the GNWT to support its call for more consultation from the federal government over the project, which the chief said has not been sufficient.
"The demonstration "has (the) full support of National Chief Norman Yakeleya," according to Dene Nation spokesperson Robin Ram.
"The Dene Nation and National Chief Yakeleya fully support Smith’s Landing efforts to raise concerns over this project and its potential impacts and ensure the Indigenous communities living within the Mackenzie water system will not be affected by this project and a voice at the table," stated a news release.
Speaking to reporters in Yellowknife on Feb. 19, Yakeleya said the issues over the Frontier project could escalate to the level of the pipeline dispute in northwestern British Columbia.
“That issue could be – if the government doesn’t listen – our Wet’suwet’en issue. That’s how important it is, because water is life,” Yakeleya said.