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Some Sask. First Nations say they're not being fairly consulted by province

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Some Saskatchewan First Nations feel they are not being adequately consulted by the provincial government on matters affecting them.

The province has a consultation policy in place but some Chiefs think it should be written into law.

Whether it’s the sale of crown land or the recent government constitutional White Paper, some Saskatchewan First Nations don’t think they’re being adequately consulted on matters that could impact them.

“If status quo continues, and all the land that we had relied on, our ancestors had relied on will be all gone. And life is getting harder within First Nations,” Onion Lake Cree Nation Chief Henry Lewis said.

A decade ago, the provincial government developed a duty to consult framework and is now looking at refreshing the policy. The NDP opposition believes duty to consult should be written into law.

“That’s just slapping lipstick on an old document and tweaking around the edges. They’re not going to be changing that document in a significant way,” NDP MLA Betty Nippi-Albright said.

The government said it has been consulting First Nations.

“We’re engaging all those communities to see how we can improve the duty to consult. Onion Lake has been in two meetings actually within the last month or so to talk on the duty to consult process and what they think is flawed with it,” Minister Responsible for First Nations Don McMorris said.

The government will continue to consult as it works toward a revised duty to consult framework for next year. The NDP will push to make those guidelines law.

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