The Assembly of First Nations and the David Suzuki Foundation say they want Ottawa to broaden its scope when it makes decisions on resource projects in Canada.
The foundation’s Rachel Plotkin says the federal government tends to focus on economic considerations when it comes to proposals, but they need to take into account the full benefits of the wilderness.
Plotkin says forests help with carbon sequestration and water purification while caribou are as essential part of some First Nations way of life:
“The framework looks at the value of the land in terms only of its resource extraction values. So if we were looking at caribou habitat and looking at protecting it — the economic impacts are seen as, ‘Oh, these would be the impacts to a company that was going to log it but no longer can’.”
She says the government should look at the full costs associated with projects affecting the wilderness so the pros and cons are fully known.