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Poor relations with communities holding back development: Mulcair

THUNDER BAY --- NDP Leader, Tom Mulcair wouldn't commit to matching Ontario's billion-dollar promise for the Ring of Fire, nor would he state a position for or against the Energy East Pipeline.
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NDP Leader Tom Mulcair (centre) addresses a crowd of 300 supporters at a rally at the CLE Grounds on Sunday. He said the federal government needs to concentrate on building relationships in resource communities. (Jon Thompson, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY --- NDP Leader, Tom Mulcair wouldn't commit to matching Ontario's billion-dollar promise for the Ring of Fire, nor would he state a position for or against the Energy East Pipeline. 

It's the democratic and environmental processes, he argued, that need repair. 

Flanked by the region's NDP candidates at a rally for the party faithful in Thunder Bay on Sunday, Mulcair expressed his view that resource development across the country is being stalled as a result of policies that compromise the environment and disregard Aboriginal rights.     

Among promises to restore door-to-door mail delivery, introduce affordable childcare, and give an additional cent from the gas tax to municipalities for infrastructure, Mulcair highlighted poor relationships with communities as the reason Canada's resource economy needs a reboot afer nearly a decade of Conservative governance. 

"In this day and age, you can't just decide things in the place of communities. You have to bring them on board. You have to have a real consultation where their concerns are being met," he said, referring to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's approach to pipeline politics.  

Mulcair argued Canada has "no credible environmental processes," citing changes the Conservatives have made to the Navigable Waters Protection Act, the Species At Risk Act and the Fisheries Act. He vowed to implement regulations that would respect treaty rights and restore public faith in environmental management.       

"(Harper) thinks that getting rid of environmental legislation, somehow things will go through faster. It's just the opposite. None of these projects is getting off the drawing board because they're inevitably hitting the same brick wall in the courts. Instead of wasting everyone's time, we're going to sit down, start presuming title, recognizing rights and moving forward." 

Stating northern development is key to Canada's economic future, he proposed an NDP government would foster "harmonious and sustainable" relationships with northern communities, including nation-to-nation relationships with First Nations.  

"We have to start with the most basic thing, which is to recognize, as did the Royal Proclamation of 1763 that doesn't talk about bands or tribes. It talks about nations," he said.

"And unless we make that a reflex in government, then we're going to continue to have the same type of conflict we've had for centuries. It requires a new era in our relationships with First Nations and that's precisely what an NDP government would bring in."   





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