Treaty Two Territory-Feelings are positive among Treaty 2 leadership following an initial meeting with an official from CN following last weekend’s derailment of 37 cars near St. Lazare, Manitoba.
“We are encouraged with our initial dialogue with CN as they have been transparent in what actions they have taken regarding the derailment and we made it known that we want to be involved in the process when things like this occur in the future,” said Treaty 2 Grand Chief Eugene Eastman.
What was clear in the meeting, which lasted just over and hour was that the two parties wanted to ensure further meetings and consultations would take place.
The Treaty 2 wanted to assert their right to be involved in the process of the cleanup and assessment of what damage, if any, to the land had occurred.
CN wanted to make it clear they were willing to work with Treaty 2 and lines of communication had to be established and remain open to ensure speedy communication were an emergency to occur in the Territory in the future.
That was something that wasn’t lost on the Grand Chief.
“It’s a good start for Treaty 2 and CN to sit down and start developing an action plan moving forward to try and formalize the inclusion of First Nations within Treaty 2 for future environmental issues. We look forward to future meetings with CN to work toward turning this incident into a mutually beneficial relationship.”
Last modified: February 20, 2019
