be ill.
We all want the courts to be on our side. But let's face it often they are
not.
The legislature makes the laws; mainly for the powerful.
Think about that mill or mine in your town or on your land pumping out
pollution.
You say to yourself, "That's got to be against the law?" But usually it
isn't.
So then you say, "There ought to be a law!" And so the struggle begins.
The people who keep talking about the duty to consult have confused a
struggle over something that is against the law with a struggle for a
new law.
The duty to consult is not a veto. You can stretch out the process and
hope the nasty resource developer goes away but when push comes to
shove the Courts won't back you up.
It might appear that government hasn't met the duty(It's against the
law) when if fact the law as it stands just doesn't go far enough(
There ought to be a law) and we need a new law.
Personally I think this fight is about new law- a new mining act that
gives First Nations the right to say no.
First Nations want more than simply consultation about decisions, they
want more than deals, they want the right to make their own decisions.
And that means new laws.
