Public Safety Cooperation Protocol Between the Assembly of First Nations and Royal Canadian Mounted Police

PREAMBLE

WHEREAS Aboriginal and Treaty Rights are specifically enshrined in section 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 and the Supreme Court of Canada has provided guidance for the recognition and affirmation of those rights;

WHEREAS the enhancement of public safety in Canada must include Aboriginal peoples;

WHEREAS the history of the relationship between the ABORIGINAL PEOPLES OF CANADA and the ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE, though sometimes adversarial, reflects mutual assistance and respect;

WHEREAS the future of Our Children, Youth, Women, Men and Elders requires safe, secure and stable communities;

AND FURTHER , the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) desire to develop a framework which will develop strategies for addressing community safety problems in communities.

Therefore the Parties agree as follows:

1.0 PURPOSE OF THE PROTOCOL

The purpose of this Protocol is to establish trusting and reciprocal relationships among the Parties with the goal of either preventing situations involving conflict situations, alternatively, resolving disputes which do develop at the earliest possible opportunity.

This will be achieved by subscribing to the following principles:

1.1 the enhancement of public, community, and police officers safety;

1.2 the acknowledgement, and understanding of each organization, roles and accountability;

1.3 the participation in a crisis management process on a voluntary basis;

1.4 to establish ongoing communications by exchanging information between the Parties so as to strengthen local, regional, national policing, agencies, and organizations;

1.5 to ensure that both Parties possess timely and accurate information; and

1.6 the establishment of a Joint AFN/RCMP Crisis Response Team as needed.

2.0 THE ROLE OF THE ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS

2.1 The role of the Assembly of First Nations will be to strengthen the shared partnership at a national, regional, and local, level of ongoing communication with the RCMP, in particular:

to identify, at a local, regional, and national level, point persons to liaise with the RCMP, where appropriate, in an effort to avert or help resolve conflict in First Nation communities;
1. to identify situations that could lead to crisis;
2. to provide information and suggestions to the RCMP, where appropriate, on conflict prevention, crisis management and resolution; and
3. to assist in the identification of mutually beneficial solutions for consideration by all involved, where appropriate.
to establish an internal Working Group comprised of AFN representatives and First Nation community members to facilitate crisis management and communication in the event of conflict.
where appropriate, and subject to applicable laws, regulations, policies and operational requirements, provide information and suggestions on how to prevent conflict from occurring in First Nations communities.

2.2 The AFN will contribute to the development of culturally appropriate training conducted by the RCMP to its members.

2.3 In any particular situation, the Assembly of First Nations participation under this Protocol will be invoked only at the request of the First Nation Government.

2.4 For greater certainty, it is expressly acknowledged that the Assembly of First Nations' has no role in a conflict situation, if the First Nation Government does not consent to the Assembly of First Nations' participation.

3.0 THE ROLE OF THE RCMP

3.1 The role of the RCMP will be to strengthen the shared partnership at a national, regional, divisional, and local level of ongoing communication with the AFN, in particular:

identify at the relevant national, regional, divisional and local level point persons for the AFN in relation to this Protocol; and
where the R.C.M.P.'s duties require involvement in a First Nation community, the R.C.M.P. will, where appropriate, and subject to applicable laws, regulations, policies and operational requirements, endeavor to liaise with the AFN in order to seek their assistance in averting or resolving the conflict.

3.2 Where appropriate, the RCMP participation under this Protocol will be invoked only at the request of the affected police force of jurisdiction.

3.3 The RCMP will involve AFN in the development of culturally appropriate training for its members and will undertake to make this Protocol known to all its members.

4.0 GENERAL PROVISIONS

4.1. The effectiveness of the Protocol is dependent on the intentions and best efforts of the Parties to prevent threats to community safety, and security and to resolve crisis situations.

4.2. This Protocol shall not be used by a party in the interpretation of any other agreement.

4.3. The Parties agree to work together throughout the duration of this Protocol in a respectful, professional and co-operative manner.

4.4. The Parties, subject to any applicable federal and provincial legislation, including access to information and privacy legislation may share information, observations and reports that relate to the maintenance of social order, personal safety and public security.

4.5. This Protocol is a statement of intent and does not create legally binding obligations on either Party. This Protocol does not define, create, recognize, deny or amend any of the rights or authorities of the Parties.

4.6. This Protocol is without prejudice to any legal positions which has been or may be taken by either Party, and should not be construed as admissions of fact or liability in any proceeding or process.

4.7. Where a dispute arises between the Parties respecting the interpretation, application, implementation or operation of this Protocol, the Parties will attempt to resolve the dispute by consensus through representatives of the AFN or R.C.M.P.

5.0 DURATION

5.1 This Protocol shall take effect from the date that it is signed by the Parties and shall remain in effect for two years, unless terminated in accordance with section 5.3.

5.2 This Protocol may be amended by written agreement of the Parties.

5.3 Either party may terminate their involvement in this Protocol by providing (10) days written notice to the other Party.

5.4 One year from when the Protocol takes effect, the Parties will review the effectiveness of the Protocol and identify opportunities to improve the Protocol.

6.0 OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES FOR CRISIS SITUATION

Prevention for Personal Harm/Community Safety

6.1 Identify situations that could lead to crisis.

6.2 Exchange information and advice on how to prevent crisis from occurring.

6.3 Enhance understanding among the Parties of their respective roles and responsibilities in a crisis situation.

Management

6.4 Identify mutually beneficial solutions for consideration by the Parties and their Principals.

6.5 Provide advice and timely recommendations to senior officials or political leaders that is based on the best information available.

6.6 Provide timely responses to the other Parties when developing options to address a crisis.

Intervention

6.7 Conduct a debriefing with affected Parties, during or after a crisis, to determine solutions and effective ways of addressing the situation or a similar situation in the future.

6.8 Develop a joint training program that enables the Parties to acquire skills and knowledge to address lessons learned from past incidents, as well as, to manage crisis more effectively.

7.0 OPERATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

7.1 The Parties will appoint a Joint National Advisory Council to provide advice and guidance to the National Chief and the Commissioner of the RCMP.

7.2 In accordance with the Joint AFN/RCMP Crisis Response Team, the Parties will establish and maintain a network of contact/resource people who are able to act promptly when a crisis arises.

7.3 The Parties will develop such tools as will effectively address issues related to public and community safety such as:

the development of collaborative and working relationships;
the development of training tools such as orientation manuals and workshops including Aboriginal culture, practices and traditions;
the sharing of lessons learned/best practices of dispute resolutions; and
the integration of alternative justice protocols and processes.

7.4 The Parties will develop pre and post standards, protocols for ongoing communication.

7.5 The Parties will enhance communications between First Nation Government, local, regional and national community policing agencies and organizations to strengthen shared partnerships.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF THE PARTIES HAVE SIGNED THIS PROTOCOL THIS _ __ DAY OF __________________, 2004 IN THE PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN.

ON BEHALF OF THE AFN

_________________
National Chief Fontaine

ON BEHALF OF HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN RIGHT OF CANADA

_________________
RCMP Commissioner, Zaccardelli

May 18, 2004

http://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/en/pdf/Conference/2013_Conference_Agenda_Abstracts_Volume.pdf

Retweeted by David Raymond Amos

Jorge Barrera‏@JorgeBarrera

RCMP officers in full camo move in on Mi'kmaq-led blockade: via @maryposa74pic.twitter.com/MntLmX50VM

Retweets 47

11:32 AM - 17 Oct 2013· Twitter / JorgeBarrera: RCMP officers in full camo ...

Trina Roache‏@TrinaRoache

. @APTNnews RCMP Sgt Richard Bernard testifies for Crown. Describes mood of fracking protesters leading up to Oct 17 as "volatile."

RCMP's raid on Mi'kmaq anti-fracking camp still haunts

National News | 05. Mar, 2014 by APTN National News

APTN National News
Images of the clash between police and Mi'kmaq protesters from last Oct. 17 still haunt some who were there.

But Malcolm Ward says he struggles with anxiety that stems from that day that saw burning cars, pepper spray and sock rounds fly.

APTN'sTrina Roache has this story.

Who is Mi'kmaq? | CBC News: Nova Scotia


			Who is Mi'kmaq? \| CBC News: Nova Scotia What does it mean to be Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia today?
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Who is Mi'kmaq?

CBC News

Posted: October 31, 2013

What does it mean to be Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia today?

Language, shared history and community involvement are all integral to identity. But they can have little to do with legal status under the Indian Act.

It's a question the Mi'kmaq nation is grappling with in light of the "Made in Nova Scotia" process. Who will benefit from that modern treaty? With the eventual goal of self-determination, comes the issue of membership. But it's also about efforts to hang on to language, education, residence, a sense of history and the legal definition of status.

This series is about the important cultural and legal facets of Mi'kmaq identity, weaving together personal stories with larger political currents.

About

Trina Roache

As a Mi'kmaq journalist, Trina Roache started her career with CBC Radio. She went on to work for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network for several years. As a video journalist for APTN National news, Roache covered the issues and stories of Mi'kmaq communities in Atlantic Canada.

Trina Roache at 252‐5239 trina_roache@hotmail.com

Trina Roache's Overview

Current

Halifax Correspondent at APTN National News
Freelance Writer, Reporter at Freelance Journalist

Past

videojournalist at The Aboriginal People's Television Network
reporter at CBC radio

Education

University of King's College
Mount Saint Vincent University

Connections

58 connections

Trina Roache's Summary

With a passion for storytelling - I explore larger political issues and the personal journeys of Mi'kmaq,Maliseet and Passamaquoddy People in Atlantic Canada.

Trina Roache's Experience

Halifax Correspondent

APTN National News

November 2013 – Present (6 months)

Freelance Writer, Reporter

Freelance Journalist

May 2013 – Present (1 year)Halifax, NS

Research, write, report and edit for print and broadcast media

videojournalist

The Aboriginal People's Television Network

Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Broadcast Media industry

2001 – 2007 (6 years)

reporter

CBC radio

Government Agency; 5001-10,000 employees; Broadcast Media industry

April 2000 – March 2001 (1 year)

Trina Roache's Projects

Videos
Team Members: Trina Roache

Trina Roache's Volunteer Experience & Causes

- Director
  Lost Creek Community Association
  September 2009 – present (4 years 8 months)
  As an integral part of our association, I worked with others to fundraise and build a park with playground and walking trail in our community. Our goal is to encourage community spirit and a healthy way of life by providing an outdoor space for families to gather and play. We worked closely with our municipal government to make it all happen.
- Causes I care about:
  - Arts and Culture
  - Children
  - Education
  - Environment
  - Human Rights
  - Politics
  - Poverty Alleviation
  - Science and Technology
  - Social Services

NB premier, Mi'kmaq chief discussed ending blockade, allowing shale gas exploration to continue, handwritten notes reveal

National News | 09. Oct, 2013

Ossie Michelin

@Osmich

Video Journalist working with APTN. Loves cooking, dogs, travel and the North with a capital N. The opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone.

Eastern Canada

Trina Roache‏@TrinaRoache

RCMP's raid on Mi'kmaq anti-fracking camp still haunts | APTN National News http://aptn.ca/news/2014/03/05/rcmps-raid-mikmaq-anti-fracking-camp-still-haunts/ … via APTN National News


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Editors note: The handwritten notes obtained by APTN National News are posted below the story.)

By Jorge Barrera
APTN National News
Days after Elsipogtog Chief Arren Sock demanded Houston-based firm SWN Resources Canada leave New Brunswick, he sat at a hotel conference table with the province's premier discussing a strategy that would see the company stay and continue its controversial shale gas exploration work, APTN National News has learned.

On Oct 1, during Treaty Day celebrations, Sock demanded the company leave the province within 24 hours. He read out a band council resolution declaring Elsipogtog was taking "stewardship" over all unoccupied Crown lands.

But in a closed-door meeting Monday in Fredericton, Sock and Premier David Alward discussed a timeline to end a blockade targeting SWN machinery and allow the company to finish some of its exploration work, according to three pages of handwritten notes from the meeting obtained by APTN National News.

A Mi'kmaq-led anti-fracking highway blockade in Rexton, NB, has trapped SWN's exploration vehicles in a compound. The company responded by obtaining an injunction last Thursday to clear the barricades. The threat of impending police action as a result of the court order spurred talks Sunday and Monday between Alward and Sock.

Two of Sock's advisers confirmed the notes were taken during Monday's meeting and asked APTN National News not to report their content. They said the notes contained information unknown even to the majority of the band council.

While Sock's advisers would not say who wrote the notes, they revealed the broad strokes of Monday's discussion. The conversation with the premier went beyond the blockade and SWN's immediate exploration work. The two sides discussed the creation of a provincial consultation framework to govern how industry deals with First Nation communities on future energy projects, they said.

APTN National News has decided not to identify the two advisers.

The ongoing blockade on Route 135 sits about 80 kilometres north of Moncton and 15 km northeast of Elsipogtog. The blockade is the latest salvo in a battle against SWN's shale gas exploration that raged throughout this past summer and led to dozens of arrests.

Mi'kmaq, Acadian and Anglophone residents in the area believe the discovery of shale gas will lead to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and they fear the extraction method poses a threat to the area's water and environment.

SWN's injunction against the blockade expires on Oct. 12 and the company's lawyers have agreed to let the injunction expire as a result of talks between Sock and Alward.

Elsipogtog residents supporting the blockade widely believe Sock is trying to negotiate SWN's permanent exit from the region and bring an end to any shale gas exploration in the future. But according to the handwritten notes and Sock's advisers, evicting SWN from the province is not on the table.

"Time is what is needed to settle the volatile situation," reads one entry in the notes.

The two sides discussed letting SWN finish its seismic imaging exploration work along a section on Hwy 11, which is near the blockade site. In exchange, the company would forgo other work requiring explosives, according to one advisor. SWN currently has a line of geophones stretching for about five kilometres on the highway which is under close surveillance by the company.

"Line 4 abandoned if line 11 is completed," says one of the lines in the notes.

SWN is also willing to put up with protests against its work if the blockade ends, said one of Sock's advisers.

"Blockade down, protest continues," reads one entry in the notes.

The notes also seem to set a possible day for the release of SWN's trapped vehicles.

"Thursday equipment moved out?" says one the items listed in the notes and numbered "4."

While the notes do not state which "Thursday" is being referred to, it follows three previous items numbered 1, 2 and 3 with the words "improperly consulted, working group" and "week…time limit Monday to next Wednesday." The words "improperly consulted" appear in two of the pages of notes.

The advisers would not provide details about the proposed timelines, saying only that the "working group" would be discussing all the items listed in the notes. They said Alward agreed Elsipogtog was not properly consulted before SWN entered its territory.

After Monday's meeting in Fredericton's Crowne Plaza Lord Beaverbrook Hotel, Sock and Alward, emerged holding braids of sweetgrass and jointly announced the creation of the working group. Both leaders said they hoped the group's efforts would lead to the blockade's peaceful end.

According to the notes, it appears the Sock and his advisers want discussions with the province to include issues such as housing, the creation of a "healing to wellness court," and a tax agreement on gaming revenues. The items are expected to be part of the working group's agenda, according to one of Sock's advisers.

Sock and his advisers appear to have concluded they can't convince Alward to evict SWN from the province.

"If it's not SWN, it's always going to be another company," said one adviser told APTN National News.

New Brunswick's Tory government is betting heavily on investments from energy firms like SWN to help turn the province's moribund economy around. SWN is expected to invest about $47 million into the province by the end of the year. It gave Fredericton $2.4 million in cash shortly after winning a bid to explore 934,000 acres stretching from Richibucto and Bouctouche region, which includes Elsipogtog's territory, to the southwest. The company was also awarded a license to explore 84,000 hectares in the province's southeast.

SWN is seeking to renew its exploration licenses which expire next March 31, 2014, and March 31 2015.

The province wants to avoid a repeat of First Nation-led opposition that has dogged SWN's work. Without the Mi'kmaq, local Acadian and Anglophone opposition would pose little threat to the company's shale gas exploration. Local non-First Nation residents who frequent the camp readily acknowledge the Mi'kmaq demonstrators gave the resistance teeth.

Sock and Alward have discussed creating a framework defining the "duty to consult" to allow companies like SWN to enter First Nation territories without triggering such fierce opposition. While the framework is specific to the situation in Elsipogtog, advisers claimed it will become the blueprint for the rest of the province, defining how industry deals with First Nation communities.

"There is going to be a historic event come out of this," said one of Sock's advisers. "The agreement coming out of this working group is not just going to affect Elsipogotog; it is going to affect how industry comes to the province and how the province and industry comes to First Nation communities."

Sock's adviser said the process would involve a referendum preceded by meetings where the company would detail their planned work in the community's territory.

"Nowhere has this happened before where First Nations and a company in the province have sat down and developed a duty to consult. To define it to the point where a band member who just sits back on welfare will know every detail as long as you go to the meetings," said the adviser. "You are not going to get spoken for by a corporation in another part of the province…In First Nation communities this is huge…it is going to be how…TransCanada comes in and deals with communities across the province."

TransCanada is planning a $12 billion, 4,500 kilometre pipeline project to ship up to 1.1 million barrels of Alberta tar sands oil to Quebec and New Brunswick.

jbarrera@aptn.ca

@JorgeBarrera


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Peter• 6 months ago
Dear Chief Sock:
Why would you capitulate now when SWN is on the ropes? The Premier is working feverishly hard to sit you on the table and save his agreement with the Texans. Alward has pumped over 51 million to this project and SWN is getting impatient and is threatening to leave. Alward can't afford losing SWN for the Province of New Brunswick has the highest debt among all the Provinces with a whopping $2 Billion. He's scared and now he has sucked you in on the table, where you need not have to go there. Continue the blockade, SWN will capitulate!

Gordon Chamberlain• 6 months ago
Radioactive contamination has been found down river from the waste water treatment plants treating fracking waste water. What legislation is in place to protect citizens and the environment from radioactive contamination ?

Mousie Sieben• 6 months ago
I just had a conversation with our Council from here in Elsipogtog, and he was at the meeting that was held in Fredericton, he told me that the only thing that the Chief agreed to was to form a working group, as far as our community goes, the majority of ppl do not want anything to do with SWN, We are not for sale, our children, grandchildren and generations to come depend on us to protect the land and the resources that are here..

disqus_9tgrLNO5Ga• 6 months ago
So speculations from APTN??!!, I feel like I could trust the APTN to cover FACTS!! this is all allegations against the only chief who would go against the biggest company, why would they try and deface Chief Sock?? Interview him before you bring out all these allegations from the Advisors?? for all we know it could be government people saying they are the Chief's advisors, and if this is all true I will certainly apologize, but until then lets wait and hear what the Chief has to say please!

Charmaine• 6 months ago
Those notes are just discussions in the meeting, NB Govt started those discussions, Chief Sock will never ever sell out his people and that is the TRUTH! All he agreed to is creating working groups, and if working groups say No to shale gas, then its a no and they will walk out! He was received numerous offers but never did he sell us out.... He stands with the PEOPLE!

S.Joseph• 6 months ago
What I want to know is, who is this advisor? and Our Chief would not sell us out! He has been supporting his people from DAY 1, with this fight against SWN. This is a divide and conquer tatic! Stay strong Chief! #ElsipogtogStrong

Was the fix in for Mi'kmaq Warriors at Elsipogtog?

Signs point to some having prior knowledge October 17th was 'take down' day

by Miles Howe

Numerous signs point to Thursday October 17, 2003 being a pre-meditated 'take down' day for the peaceful anti-shale gas encampment along Highway 134. Did the Mi'kmaq Warriors still at camp take the fall? PHOTO: Miles Howe

MONCTON, NB–Coady Stevens, the first of six Mi'kmaq Warrior to appear on charges related to the anti-shale gas encampment along Highway 134, has been denied bail.

As bail hearings today continue for the five remaining incarcerated members of the Mi'kmaq Warriors Society, enough information is beginning to surface to suggest that the vicious pre-dawn RCMP takedown of the anti-shale gas encampment on the morning of October 17th was a well known fact among some before it happened.

This is not to suggest that these people necessarily knew of the severity or magnitude of the RCMP raid, or even what it would look like. On the other hand, the possibility that others knew of the raid on October 17th is becoming too real to ignore.

Not only this, but there is a clear possibility that the greater narrative behind the raid is the measured destruction of the Mi'kmaq Warriors Society, to be replaced in their stead by a joint Assembly of First Nations/RCMP force.

Did Elsipogtog First Nation Chief Sock know that Thursday was the day?

Much has been made of the fact that Chief Sock and members of his council were arrested on the morning of October 17th. Sock and council were arrested in the second confrontation with RCMP, after the police had swept through the encampment, making numerous arrests, with guns drawn in the pre-dawn hours.

What brings Sock's pre-awareness of the events of the 17th into question is a series of notes obtained by APTN journalist Jorge Barerra.

The notes, which Sock has since admitted to Barerra that he penned, were taken during a meeting between Chief Sock, Robert Levi and 'Jumbo' Sock, who are both councillors from Elsipogtog First Nation, Tobique First Nation member John Deveau and Listuguj First Nation member Wendell Metallic, and two provincially-appointed advisors and other members of the New Brunswick provincial government, which included premier and Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Alward, as well as Energy minister Craig Leonard.

The Sock notes suggest that the talks focused, at least for a period, on a timeline of when to take down the ongoing blockade.

Point '8' on page one reads: "Blockade down, protest continues."

Point '3' on page two of Sock's hand-written notes says: "Week – time limit Monday to next Wednesday."

Point '4' on the same page reads: "Equipment out Thursday?"

These notes were written on Monday, October 7th, so it is reasonably safe to conclude that the "next Wednesday" in question refers to Wednesday, October 16th. The Thursday in question is October 17th, the date of the vicious raid.

Granted, Sock does continue to publicly denounce SWN Resources Canada's seismic testing in the area. In an attempt to patch up relations between his community and the RCMP, he even helped clean up the wreckage of six torched police cars. But based on his own notes, one must consider the possibility that he was aware that there was a plan in motion to dismantle the encampment and end the peaceful anti-shale gas encampment on Thursday, October 17th.

A blockade of millions of dollars of seismic testing equipment, without which SWN could not work, is one thing. A peaceful protest alongside the highway, where people can vent their indignation without actually stopping the Texas-based company from testing for shale gas deposits, is quite another.

One is effective, albeit potentially illegal in the eyes of the Crown. The other is a co-option of energy towards ineffective means, that is, if you actually want to stop the company from working.

The fly in Sock's ear: John Deveau, heir to the director's chair of the joint AFN/RCMP crisis response team in New Brunswick

Deveau, one of Sock's provincially-appointed advisers, is an intriguing character and no stranger to the anti-shale gas protests in Elsipogtog. We have written in more detail about him here.

But to fully understand his role in the current anti-shale gas movement – and it is a big one – we need to back up for a moment to late June of 2013, when Elsipogtog's anti-shale gas movement was being led by Elsipogtog 'War Chief' John Levi.

After 12 anti-shale gas arrests occurred on June 21st, 2013, along Highway 126 in Kent County, the community of Elsipogtog was understandably up in arms. A eight and a half month pregnant woman had been arrested, and an elder had been roughed up enough by RCMP that she was bleeding from the mouth by the time they zip-strapped her and tossed her in their wagon.

In response, on June 23rd, two new players were introduced to the community during a town hall-style meeting in Elsipogtog.

The first was the Mi'kmaq Warriors Society. The second was Tobique First Nation member Wendell Nicholas.

When first brought before the community of Elsipogtog, Nicholas was introduced as a 'UN Independant [sic] Observer'. His rather vaguely defined mission at the time was related to making observations and preparing an upcoming report for a branch of the United Nations.

Claire Stewart Kannigan, working for rabble.ca, identified a mis-print on Nicholas' shirt and started snooping. When Kannigan couldn't find an established connection between Nicholas and the United Nations, and proceeded to out him on rabble, Nicholas promptly re-branded himself - with the assistance of a Chief Sock-led press conference - as the leader of a new 'peacekeeping' team known as the 'Elsipogtog Peacekeepers'.

In the midst of a heated summer of protests, with residents tired of watching their community members being roughed up by the RCMP, the press conference introducing Nicholas was awash with hand shakes, ceremony and praise for Nicholas' new team – even if his role wasn't entirely understood beyond being something of a liaison between Elsipogtog band council and the RCMP.

As it turn out, Nicholas is something of an old hand in the game of liaising between First Nations communities and the Royal Colonial Mounted Police. In fact, he is the brainchild behind the Public Safety Cooperation Protocol (PSCP).

At the very least co-authored by Nicholas in 2004, the PSCP is amongst the modern day memorandums that facilitates sharing information between Indian Act chiefs and the RCMP on Indigenous unrest across Turtle Island. It is, in essence, an agreement between then AFN Chief Phil Fontaine and RCMP Commissioner Zaccardelli – on behalf of the Queen – to spy on and squash Indigenous grassroots unrest before it starts. The terms used in the PSCP are more flowery and bureaucratic than that, but the song remains the same.

Fontaine found himself outed and discredited when he collaborated with the RCMP to quash Indigenous unrest in 2007. His intelligence sharing with the police smacks of the Nicholas-penned PSCP agreement.

As for Nicholas, he hired members of the Elsipogtog community on as peacekeepers, and also hired people from outside of the community.

Suddenly summertime anti-shale gas protests alongside of the highways in Kent County were highly monitored affairs, with people wearing bright orange 'Elsipogtog Peacekeepers' t-shirts wandering around everywhere, some speaking to the police, some taking notes on clipboards.

One of those bright-shirted protest monitors was former US National Guardsman and police officer –and Nicholas' cousin- John Deveau.

At some point, possibly due to failing health or prior commitments, Nicholas stopped being the public face of the Elsipogtog Peacekeepers. Handing over the daily duties to Deveau, Nicholas retired to a behind-the-scenes roll as Elsipogtog's Public Safety Advisor, where he appears to remain.

Deveau, for his part, took over the directorship of the 'peacekeeping' team, and is actively drawing a salary of $60,000 a year as the director of the 'Wabanaki Peacekeepers', essentially version 2.0 of the Elsipogtog outfit, but with better equipment and full-time salaries.

Make no mistake. This is the pleasant name given to the Deveau-run joint AFN/RCMP crisis response team, the team that all summer long was liaising with SWN, the RCMP and Elsipogtog Band Council – all the while presenting itself as a neutral negotiating body to grassroots activists actually on the ground.

October 16th, 2013: John Deveau gets outed by the grassroots.

On Wednesday, October 16th, a crew of grassroots activists from Elsipogtog, as well as members of the Mi'kmaq Warrior Society, broke in on a John Deveau-chaired meeting. Present were numerous members of the RCMP, Elsipogtog 'War Chief' John Levi and several members of the Elsipogtog community.

Elsipogtog elder – and Levi's aunt – Norma Augustine requested that Deveau, as well as bad-faith RCMP negotiator "Dickie" Bernard, be escorted out of Elsipogtog First Nation.

And by now the entire nation knows what took place on Thursday October 17th.

A tale of two Johns. Dividing camps, co-opting a movement

Elsipogtog 'War Chief' John Levi's influence upon the autumn anti-shale gas blockade along Highway 134 was virtually non-existent before October 17th. Levi, a clean and sober sun-dancer, has made much of what he perceived as the Mi'kmaq Warriors less-than-puritan lifestyle, and has privately used this as his reasoning not to attend the blockade.

It is possible that some of these disparaging remarks were fuelled by the general misunderstanding over Levi's role as Elsipogtog's 'War Chief', and where exactly that placed him within the Mi'kmaq Warrior Society.

In effect, it placed him nowhere.

The Mi'kmaq Warrior Society operates as an independent body, with it's own Chief and ranking system.

For his part, Levi was appointed 'War Chief' of Elsipogtog by Noel Augustine, Keptin of District 6 of the Migmaw Grand Council. The Grand Council is a modern day facsimile of a traditional Mi'kmaq government style that does not appear to wield much more than figurehead-style power. Noel Augustine, for example, has issued a variety of eviction notices to SWN Resources Canada, all of which have fallen upon the deaf ears of the Texas-based gas giant.

The more nefarious possibility is that Levi, under the influence of Deveau, could not infiltrate the encampment to any degree of information-gathering success, and thus reverted to a public smear campaign against the Warriors.

In any case, with the violent takedown of the Warrior Society out of the way, Levi is once again a common sight at the quickly rebuilding camp along Highway 134. It has been reported that Levi's main aim at Highway 134, however, is in actively trying to encourage activists to move towards last summer's encampment along Highway 116.

To boot, it has been reported that Levi is in negotiations with RCMP, offering the police that he can move the camp to the out-of-the-way Highway 116 location, in exchange for the police grounding their ever-present spy plane that continues to monitor the encampment along Highway 134.

Despite the destruction of the encampment during the raid of the 17th, the Highway 134 encampment by far remains the more tactical of camps.

SWN's seismic testing lines are slated to be near Highway 11, one of the main arteries of transport in New Brunswick. Snap highway blockades, as occurred on October 19th as a show of defiance in the face of the RCMP's raid, are also a quick and potential technique when the encampment remains on the 134. The 116 camp, arguably safer due to it's proximity to Elsipogtog First Nation, is tucked far out of the way of any action save the falling of leaves.

Sadly, especially considering the very real legal costs now being incurred by the five Warriors who remain without a bail hearing, Levi's camp division has also reached a financial level.

Splitting up donations from well-intention sources, including accepting money from the popular group The Indigo Girls, and then funnelling this money towards other side-projects, rather than towards the immediate legal costs of the Mi'kmaq Warriors, is only the tip of the iceberg.

At the Wilsons' gas station in Elsipogtog, there are now two donation jars side by side. One for donations to the Highway 134 encampment, and one for the Highway 116 encampment. Social media has also begun offering a variety of sources for donations. Most appear to agree that the Warriors' legal defence fund, which has already paid out a retainer to lawyers Lemieux and Menard, is the grassroots choice for donations.

APTN reported Monday that Chief Sock may well give the Elsipogtog band seal of approval, as it relates to anti-shale gas protests, to Levi. What exactly this means is entirely unclear.

With a summer's worth of experience in leading blockade-free anti-shale gas protests on the side of the highway, and with close friend John Deveau there to guide him, Levi may well be the front-runner for the band's endorsement.

The case of the missing van – and the departure of the Christian Peacemaker Team*

At the rebuilding encampment along Highway 134, rumours continue to circulate of pre-October 17th tip-offs to the effect that Thursday would be a bad morning to be there. One of the rumours pertains to Lorraine Clair.

On the evening of October 16th, Lorraine Clair, whose van originally had been blocking the entrance to the compound where SWN Resources Canada's seismic testing equipment was being held, left the encampment. She left with her van.

Before leaving the encampment, Clair contacted Chris Sabas, the senior member of the Christian Peacemaker Team that had been monitoring the Indigenous anti-shale gas activists from Elsipogtog since the summer. Clair said that the Warrior Society had asked her to leave and asked Sabas to leave the encampment with her.

Sabas then asked Elsipogtog elder Kenneth Francis, who was on the scene to give Clair's dead van a battery boost if she should leave. Francis concurred that the CPT team should leave the encampment.

In explaining why she left the scene that in hindsight was in desperate need of some kind of independent monitoring to counter the RCMP narrative that is seeing multiple charges being levied at all six incarcerated members of the Warrior Society, Sabas noted that Clair – after John Levi became a non-factor at the Highway 134 encampment – was her "community partner from Elsipogtog." Rather than seeking a new community partner at a live situation with the very real potential for confrontation to erupt, it appears that the CPT's partnership chain ended with Clair.

So on the night of the 16th, at the request of Clair and Francis, the CPT left the as-yet peaceful encampment on Highway 134.

In her defence, Sabas did attempt to return to the site in the morning. She also took some great video – amongst many other great videos – of the secondary confrontation with RCMP on the morning of the 17th.

Of the initial conflict, precious little footage exists that is not in RCMP hands.

Clair, for her part, appears to have located a computer on the evening of the 16th. She wrote a short message, all in caps, and posted it on the most visited of social media sites. The message mentioned that the "peaceful" part of the protest was over, and encouraged all supporters to meet her and others at the Highway 116 encampment for a noontime ceremony on the 17th. It cannot be determined what Clair was basing her assessment on; as a first-hand observer I saw no violence break out at the encampment on the night of the 16th to suggest that the peaceful part of the encampment had ended.

*Correction from the editors: This article originally gave the incorrect name of Chris Sabas Shirazi for Christian Peacemaker Team member Chris Sabas. In addition, the HMC regrets any suggestion in an earlier version of the article that the Christian Peacemaker Team made the decsion to leave the site lightly.

the truth search

Submitted by Max on Sat, 10/26/2013 - 09:53.

Miles Im happy to see that your asking the right questions....and as far as I know, none of the above in this article have stepped forward to explain yhselves....why? If they knew of this, letting ppls live and well being in danger, are they really as some portray themselves to follow native spirituality or is the ego taking over? Dillusion? Hmmm...

Six Degrees of Separation - Fracking New Brunswick Edition

Start with former premier Shawn Graham and go!

by Miles Howe

Photo: Miles Howe

K'JIPUKTUK (HALIFAX) – A brief examination of the current whereabouts of former members of the New Brunswick Shawn Graham government, which was responsible for issuing the exploratory licenses to Texas-based gas giant SWN Resources Canada, begins to shed light on something of a revolving door process between governmental power, legal and advisory positions, and the potential for private gain.

Let's start with the ex-premier himself, Shawn Graham.

The most glaring link between Graham and the potential for familial profit from shale gas lies with his father, and former Minister of Natural Resources from 1991-1998, Alan Graham.

Alan Graham, under his own name as well as the company name Alcon Holdings Ltd, owns parcels of land that SWN Resources Canada's seismic testing lines pass through. These include sizable holdings along 'Easter Road' near the Bass River, New Brunswick, church, as well as along highway 116.

We're not just talking about land in Kent County, New Brunswick, that is near to SWN seismic testing lines. We're talking about land that SWN is slated to directly test on.

One of Shawn Graham's former Attorney Generals, T.J. Burke, is the lawyer for the Elsipogtog First Nation.

If, as is often discussed amongst grassroots Indigenous protectors, a treaty-based argument is the key to overturning SWN's license to seismic test for - and potentially develop – shale gas in New Brunswick, it is doubtful that Burke will be the lawyer to spearhead that initiative.

Burke is bound to support the interests of the band, and a treaty-based legal argument would most likely find itself at odds with the current Indian Act power dynamic.

Another of Shawn Graham's former Attorney Generals is Kelly Lamrock. Lamrock is now one of the main legal representatives of the Assembly of First Nations Chiefs of New Brunswick (AFNCNB).

Lamrock continues to keep a foot in the political game, having recently announced his intentions to run with the seatless New Brunswick New Democratic Party. It may be that Lamrock sees no future in the New Brunswick Liberals after backing the wrong man in the party leadership contest.

Of note, Lamrock testified in the failed, T.J. Burke-led, attempted injunction against SWN Resources Canada, that Elsipogtog First Nation Chief Aaron Sock had attended numerous AFNCNB meetings related to shale gas. Lamrock noted that he would be prepared to file evidence of these meetings if required.

The AFNCNB's Regional Chief, Roger Augustine, earlier in the summer told the Halifax Media Co-op that he didn't know enough either way to make an educated statement on hydraulic fracturing.

Augustine appears to have educated himself during the summer months, because in a recent presentation at the Exploration, Mining and Petroleum New Brunswick conference, he appeared as part of a panel that focused not on if resource development (read: shale gas development) should occur from a First Nations Perspective, but how.

Present at the conference were a who's who of the shale gas hopefuls in New Brunswick, and included representatives from SWN Resources Canada.

The AFNCNB's community consultation liaison is Michael Scully. Scully also owns a private consultation firm called Sweetgrass Financial Services Inc. If the AFNCB's mandate is pro-shale gas development – and it appears it is – then Scully potentially stands to double dip as a private consultant.

Sweetgrass Financial Services is co-owned by Angie Leonard and Stewart Paul. Leonard is the sister of New Brunswick Minister of Energy Craig Leonard, and has already faced her share of potential nepotism-related issues for her involvement as a lobbyist with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

Stewart Paul, former Chief of Tobique First Nation, is T.J. Burke's uncle. Paul has faced his own share of controversy over allegations of vote buying and alcohol-infused election tactics.

John Deveau, a band member from Tobique First Nation, is currently the director of the joint AFN/RCMP Crisis Response Team in New Brunswick. Facebook suggests that Deveau has changed the name of his outfit from the Wabanaki Peacekeepers to the more lengthy, but potentially less discredited, name of Wolf Industries Community Safety and Support Team Inc.

The directorship of the regional AFN/RCMP Crisis Response Team is a $60,000 per year position, whose mandate is much in tune with the Public Safety Cooperation Protocol between the AFN and the RCMP, which facilitates and streamlines information - including information on grassroots resistance - sharing between the two departments.

Deveau, perhaps incensed by a more in-depth article that appears here, sent me a letter last month stating that he was contemplating legal action against me. Nothing has yet come of this.

It has also recently come to light that one of the lead negotiators for the RCMP, Denise Vautour, who was present for almost all negotiating sessions between the Mi'kmaq Warriors Society and RCMP, leading up to the Was the fix in for Mi'kmaq Warriors at Elsipogtog? of October 17th, has a brother, Marcel Vautour, who is a regional sales representative withMulti-Chem. Multi-Chem, a Halliburton subsidiary, specializes in hydraulic fracturing chemicals.

The Vulture family actually

Submitted by anabraxas on Tue, 12/03/2013 - 20:43.

The Vulture family actually are quite lame for capitalists, pretty much like the lower-echelon bureaucrats at the corporate/municipal level. But seems like everyone in their family sleeps with Power.

I don't see how a lawsuit would solve the fact that gazillions web users can access this info on John Devreau with two-seconds search on Linkedin:

John Deveau
Director at Wolf Industries, Community Safety & Support Team Inc
New Brunswick, Canada | Construction

Current:: Director at Wolf Industries, Community Safety & Support Team Inc, Owner at Wolf Industries, General Contracting, Squad Leader / Construction Supervisor at Maine Army National Guard
Past:: Construction Site Supervisor at Kikahan Skitomiq, Detective at Limestone Police Department, Patrolman at Caribou Police Department, Chief of Police at Maliseet Tribal Police
Education:: Advance Leadership Courses, Warrior Leadership Couse, Heavy Machinery Course - US Army

Advisers to Chief Sock in Anti-shale gas negotiations are provincial government employees.

John Deveau - adviser - well-positioned to profit from talks, Indigenous unrest, resource development

by Miles Howe

John Deveau [Photo: M. Howe]

Rexton, New Brunswick – An October 9th, 2013 story by Jorge Barrera, featured by APTN, brought into serious question the firm public commitment of Elsipogtog Chief Aarren Sock and his negotiating team towards ending shale gas exploration in the province of New Brunswick.

Despite still not knowing who actually penned the notes, the notes themselves suggest that Sock and his negotiating team did not seriously consider the possibility that the ongoing encampment which continues to block numerous pieces of seismic testing equipment belonging to SWN Resources Canada might actually be capable of spearheading any type of campaign to halt shale gas exploration by the Texas-based gas company.

Barrera's article, which goes on to interview two unnamed advisers who the reporter confronted with the notes, was met with a flurry of indignation by a few individuals close to the negotiating process.

Within the encampment, delegates from Elsipogtog First Nation relayed the message that they had not only banned Barrera from the site, but had also gone so far as to ban the Aboriginal People's Television Network entirely from the encampment. This so-called ban appears to have been overturned, as APTN is now back on site.

Barrera, for his part, is sticking with the story.

"I stand by my story and everything that's reported in it," says Barrera. "It's based on notes that were taken during the meeting and with conversations [with the advisers] afterwards."

While Barrera and APTN determined that they would not name the advisers interviewed after the negotiations, the Halifax Media Co-op has learned that the two advisers were Tobique First Nations band member John Deveau and Listuguj First Nations band member Wendell Metallic.

The HMC has also learned that Deveau, under the company name Wolf Industries, has been contracted by the province of New Brunswick in his advisory role at the meetings. It is assumed that Deveau, through his company, has subcontracted an advisory position to Metallic.

Deveau has himself confirmed his provincial pay check, although when interviewed he could not remember which provincial department was actually employing him in this advisory capacity.

What this means, in effect, is that the two advisers working alongside Elsipogtog Chief Sock are actually New Brunswick provincial employees. The province, for it's part, has wholeheartedly embraced shale gas exploration, having handed over leases totalling over 1.4 million hectares.

So while Deveau has told the Halifax Media Co-op that: "I want to see this all end peacefully," in reference to the ongoing blockade of SWN's equipment, it also appears that his financial allegiances lie with the pro-shale gas provincial government.

With Deveau having a hotline to Chief Sock's ear in high level negotiations, this makes for a potentially one-sided negotiation session with the province.

Deveau, with a United State military and police background, is himself no stranger to the pursestrings of Elsipogtog First Nation, and is currently on band payroll as a 'Wabanaki Peacekeeper'.

On June 27th, during the summer campaign against shale gas, Elsipogtog First Nation established the 'Elsipogtog Peacekeepers'. In a situation where dozens had already been arrested, some members of the community publicly welcomed the force as a means to intermediate between the RCMP and protestors.

The total neutrality of the Peacekeepers began to be brought into doubt when Deveau confirmed that during the summer months the group engaged in almost nightly conversations with the RCMP and representatives of SWN Resources Canada.

Deveau, with this particular brand of 'negotiating' skills, appears to have his sights fixed on the potential of personal profit from future resource-based conflicts between Indigenous peoples, in particular, and industry.

A recent proposal to Elsipogtog First Nation, which unconfirmed sources verify has been passed, reads:

"Predictably, resource based conflicts will continue into the future, as provinces continue with exploration and development activities without the "social license" of First Nations and surrounding communities.

The need for a neutral, well-organized, trained peacekeeping team that is focused on public safety and injury prevention is clear. Within the Public Safety Protocol under section 1, paragraph 6 it indicates the responsibility to establish a "Joint AFN/RCMP crisis response team.

To that end, I am requesting funding to operationally fund a peacekeeping team. The success of the project depends on the neutrality of the team, therefore no funding source will have a direct role in the team's work that will impact the team's neutrality."

Public safety, of course, is of extreme importance. However, to portend neutrality on the one hand when requesting funds for a "peacekeeping team", while drawing a provincial paycheck as a high-level advisor to a First Nations chief from a decidedly pro-shale gas government at the same time, suggests anything but.

In any case, it appears that Deveau, as director of operations of the Wabanaki Peacekeepers, currently draws a $60,000 salary from Elsipogtog First Nation. The financial breakdown of Deveau's request is as follows:

"4 full time positions will include: Director of operations $60,000.00 Field Operations Manager $52,000.00 Security Manager $46,800.00 Administrative Assistant $36,000.00 6 part time positions will include: Public Affairs Officer $600.00 / week Field Operators (5) $500.00 / week

Additional Resources will be needed for the team's success to include: (3) SUV or Full size 4 door trucks with off road capability (1) Base Radio (8) Portable radios (3) Vehicle mounted mobile radios (1 per vehicle) (3) Cellular boosting packs for vehicle mounting (1 per vehicle) (3) First Aid equipment to include AED (1 per vehicle) (40) Shirts indicating peacekeeper team members – 2 short sleeved & 2 long sleeved per member (4) Cellular phones with e-mail capabilities (3) Cellular phones only call/text capabilities (10) Reflective multi-season coats – one per team member (6) Fire Fighting water packs as well as fire extinguisher for each vehicle (6) Panasonic Tough book style laptop computers (3) CAA Membership (1 per vehicle) (10) Surefire flashlights (rechargeable) (3) Vehicle booster packs (1 per vehicle) (3) Portable water coolers (1 per vehicle) (3) Fuel Cards (1 per vehicle)"

Further financial incentives for Deveau and Wolf Industries delve into the realm of conjecture at this point, but merit at least a paragraph of thought.

Wolf Industries is listed as a company specializing in: "Site preparation contractor, other heavy civil and engineering construction and landscaping services".

Knowing this, there is always the potential that Deveau and Wolf Industries will indeed be triple-dipping on resource development - and Indigenous unrest - for years to come:

Firstly as a provincially-paid adviser for a pro-resource extraction government.

Secondly as the director of operations of a Elsipogtog Band-paid 'peacekeeping' force that can liaise between between industry, the band and RCMP, all the while keeping close tabs on Indigenous activists.

Thirdly, as a industrial contractor with a track record of doing government bidding on a variety of pre-resource development missions.

You can follow Miles Howe on twitter at: @MilesHowe