Trudeau signals more power for First Nations over economic development – Vancouver Sun
December 8, 2015
Prime minister backs UN declaration that requires ‘full, prior and informed consent’ for projects
GATINEAU, Que. — B.C. First Nation leaders were bursting with optimism Tuesday after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spelled out to them his “real change” agenda aimed at finally reaching reconciliation.
B.C. business, while supporting Trudeau government’s enthusiasm for dealing with First Nations issues compared to predecessor Stephen Harper, expressed a note of caution about one of Trudeau’s declarations — his endorsement of the controversial 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that calls on countries to agree that resource development on aboriginal territory can’t take place without their “full, prior and informed consent.”
