THE SAD SAGA OF PINEHOUSE

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THE SAD SAGA OF PINEHOUSE

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PAT McNAMARA PROVIDES BACKGROUND INFORMATION THAT IS VERY HELPFUL IN UNDERSTANDING THE SITUATION AT PINEHOUSE.

McNAMARA: "Another Backroom Deal"

November 29, 2012

P. McNamara's background on the Pinehouse collaboration agreement

The leaders from the Village of Pinehouse in northern Saskatchewan are
making another backroom deal with the nuclear devil. They're preparing to sign a Collaborative Agreement with Cameco and Areva that is little more than a gag order disguised as an economic development initiative. Though the integrity of the village leaders is questionable at best, the Saskatchewan government created the conditions that left this town little choice but to jump into bed with the uranium mining companies. Premier Brad Wall and his cronies have starved northern communities into accepting the nuclear industry.

The Collaborative Agreement itself is still somewhat of a mystery, as
neither the village nor the mining companies have released the full version of it to the public. The only part that has been spelled out to date is that the village will not be allowed to complain to government or anyone else about activities undertaken by Cameco and Areva in perpetuity. In return, the village will get unspecified financial and work considerations from the companies. As 26-year Pinehouse resident John Smerek stated " Even though the village might see this as a good thing, it's giving away the people's voice and it's not clear at all what they're providing for the community."

Pinehouse residents are very concerned about the secrecy surrounding this deal. The first they heard about it was at a public meeting called by the village on November 13, 2012. The officials at the meeting refused to answer questions from the public by claiming they were not allowed to discuss details until the agreement was signed. They said it was too late to change anything in the agreement because they'd spent two years working on it.

The genesis of the current situation goes back to the Saskatchewan
government's Uranium Development Partnership (UDP) in 2008 when they were intent on expanding the nuclear industry in Saskatchewan through Innovation Saskatchewan, Enterprise Saskatchewan and Investment Saskatchewan. The UDP was rejected by 88% of residents but Premier Wall's government was not deterred. They simply starved communities such as Pinehouse into submission by withholding funding and non-nuclear developments.

Conditions in Pinehouse continued to deteriorate until the summer of 2010.

The community's development company, Pinehouse Business North (PBN), had no contracts to speak of and owed $250,000 in federal taxes. Shortly thereafter, Pinehouse invited the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) into the community and everything changed. Cameco started extending contracts to Pinehouse again and Pinehouse Business North was re-organized under the BRIDG program (Business Ready Investment Development Gateway).

The BRIDG program was created in October 2009 to provide Metis and First Nations in Saskatchewan with business expertise and to match them up with industry partners in the energy and resource sectors. The program was created and overseen by Westcap Mortgage Ltd. out of Saskatoon two months after the UDP program was rejected. It should be noted that at least two of Westcap's directors were proponents of the UDP as they were employed by Enterprise Saskatchewan and Investment Saskatchewan.

According to the timeline given by Pinehouse officials, work on the
Collaborative Agreement started about the same time that BRIDG became involved with Pinehouse Business North. All of a sudden, Pinehouse was rolling in cash and all they had to do was sell their soul to the nuclear and provincial devils.

The Collaborative Agreement smells as bad as the Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation at the University of Saskatchewan. The government starves the target until they have to accept the cash from the nuclear industry to maintain educational programs and feed their families. It's a sad commentary on Premier Wall and his colleagues that they're willing to sacrifice the well-being of their constituents to allow the nuclear industry to survive.

Brad Wall has assured himself a seat on Cameco's board of directors when he retires but he will have forever tarnished his legacy by starving his constituents to do so.

Pat McNamara

= = = = = = =

LISTEN: CBC National Radio's "As It Happens" Nov. 28.12 (Pt.2)

[ http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/popupaudi ... 2310843937 ]

* Uranium Mayor. The mayor of Pinehouse, Saskatchewan has no problem with a gag order included in an investment deal with two uranium mining companies

- - - - -

The document itself is posted at:

http://committeeforfuturegenerations.wo ... agreement/ ]

- - - - -

------ Original Message-----
From: "Committee" committeeforfuturegenerations@gmail.com
To: "Percy Paul" percylpaul@gmail.com
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2012 3:18 AM
Subject: Rebuttal to Gary Merasty Candyve Paul English River

Re Gary Merasty interview CBC Bluesky on Pinehouse Cameco Areva Collaborative Agreement Nov 27 2012

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Gary Merasty, formerly of Prince Albert Grand Council, former MP, now Cameco representative of Aboriginal Relations has walked away from the real issue once again.

He stated at the opening of his interview that "dialogue is key" then calls the clauses which clearly extinguish the rights of the community residents of Pinehouse to voice any dissent or opposition to Camecoor Areva a misunderstanding.

Mr. Merasty is an educated First Nations person. He was a politician. He should recognize when something such as the two clauses in the Terms of this Collaboration Agreement are in direct conflict with the Charter of Rights. Cameco and Areva are both big players on the international resource extraction arena and if they think they can treat the aboriginal people of this country the same way they are dealing with indigenous people in other parts of the world well no thanks, we don't want their "international standard".

Cameco does not provide very good stewardship of the land and waters by any First Nations cultural standard. They may be heavily regulated but there are glaring defiencies that allow for problems to occur as long as the company and the regulators agree there is "no significant risk" to whom? The industry or the people? Employees are required to sign away the right to speak against any action that might be deemed questionable for fear of losing their jobs.

The work schedule of week-in/week-out has created another form of family dysfunction which impacts children growing up with part-time parents. As a former educator, Mr. Merasty should be well aware of how this is creating all kinds of problems within the education system as children are constantly required to adjust. Many families simply do not survive this stress.

If these companies are so wonderful why are they trying to avoid public scrutiny by silencing the people and just now after 25 years, throwing them a few bucks?

Candyce Paul
English River First Nation
Beauval, Sask.
306 288 3157

= = = = = =

CBC Saskatchewan CBC Radio's "Blue Sky" noon show -

Cameco and Pinehouse - Nov.28.12

[ http://www.cbc.ca/bluesky/episodes/2012 ... pinehouse/ ]

Gary Merasty from Cameco joined the show to talk about Aboriginal employment plans but also addressed a controversial agreement with the community of Pinehouse.

AND

There is no doubt some people in the community have deep concerns aboutthe agreement and it's implications.

John Smerek and Fred Pederson both are members of the Committee for Future Generations, a group that has campaigned against further nuclear development.

- - - - --

Concerns Raised Over Uranium Deal

[ http://mbcradio.com/index.php/mbc-news?start=3 ]

Written by mbcnews

Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation, La Ronge, Saskatchewan

Wednesday, 28 November 2012 02:11

Concerns are being raised over a proposed new deal between the village of Pinehouse and two uranium-mining companies.The deal would see Cameco and AREVA both giving jobs, benefits as well as payments to the village of Pinehouse.

According to the proposal this is needed because both companies are engaged in mining operations near Pinehouse's traditional lands.

The document says the village will receive a lump-sum payment when the deal is signed; another one when production at the Cigar Lake mine begins, and a third when construction of the Millenium Mine begins. Annual payments are expected after that.

However, not everyone is happy with the proposal.

John Smerek says he worries about the impact on the land as well as on the livelihood of trappers and other traditional land-users.

He also points to a part of the agreement which says Pinehouse promises to -- "not make statements or say things in public or to any government, business or agency that opposes Cameco/AREVA's mining operations.

Smerek says he feels people's civil rights are being infringed upon: "Even though the village might see it as a good thing it's giving away the people's voice and it's not clear at all what they're providing for the community.

"However, AREVA's Jarret Adams says they're committed to working with Pinehouse for the benefit of the residents and they're not trying to muzzle anyone: "What this is looking at is that this is a partnership agreement, the focus is that we're focused on working together. But if people have concerns they should raise them."

Adams adds they initially thought the deal might be signed by December but if it takes longer so be it.

He says the Cigar Lake mine isn't expected to start up until later in2013.

Meantime Gary Merasty of Cameco says they intend to forge deals with othercommunities as well: "There will be agreements with other communities. So in the Athabasca basin, English River, La Ronge and Southend -- we're having discussions. This is not a one-off agreement. It's not our first agreement and it won't be our last."

Meantime the Mayor of Pinehouse, Mike Natamagon, says he expects the deal to be signed by mid-December.

He also feels it will bring a lot of positive things to his community.

= = = =

Uranium firms offer deal to community

[ http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Uranium+f ... community/
7613391/story.html#ixzz2DPrKH2xM ]

Agreement sparks opposition

By Jason Warick, The StarPhoenixNovember 27, 2012 2:03 AM

An offer by uranium giants Cameco Corp. and Areva could soon deliver jobs, cash payments and other benefits to the northern community of Pinehouse, but some residents worry it's a thinly veiled attempt to buy their silence.

Gary Merasty, Cameco's vice-president of corporate social responsibility, said "collaboration agreements" are being negotiated with Pinehouse and several other northern Saskatchewan communities. Merasty said the deals will formalize decades-long partnerships on jobs and other issues.

"We're trying to update our relationship with northern communities," Merasty said Monday.

But some Pinehouse residents point to several clauses in the draft agreement that would force Pinehouse to support the companies to regulators, investors and the public.

The agreement would prohibit Pinehouse from criticizing the companies now or in the future, a measure that amounts to an indefinite "gag order," said Pinehouse resident Fred Peterson.

"I really don't like this. I hope we can get it stopped," Pederson said of the deal, which could be signed by the end of December.

Peterson and other residents fear the so-called gag order will extend beyond their elected officials. One clause obliges leaders to "make reasonable efforts to ensure Pinehouse members do not say or do anything that interferes with or delays Cameco/Areva's mining."

"They are trying to take away our voice as individuals and as a community," said John Smerek, a resident of Pinehouse, a largely Metis and First Nations municipality of 1,000 people located about 400 kilometres north of Saskatoon.

MORE:
[ http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Uranium+f ... community/
7613391/story.html#ixzz2DPrKH2xM ]

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ROONEY: Corporate Control & the Profitability of “Consent”

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PLEASE SHARE THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE WIDELY AMONG YOUR SOCIAL NETWORK CONTACTS. IT IS WRITTEN BY KAREN ROONEY, WHO IS PRESENTLY REPRESENTING CANADIAN YOUTH AT THE UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE NEGOTIATIONS IN QATAR.

http://canadianyouthdelegation.wordpres ... 012/11/28/
corporate-control-the-profitability-of-consent/

Corporate Control & the Profitability of “Consent”

Posted by karooney on November 28, 2012
http://canadianyouthdelegation.wordpres ... /karooney/

What do Pinehouse, Saskatchewan and COP18 in Doha, Qatar have in common?

They are both under siege by some of the wealthiest extractive corporations in the world. At the UN climate negotiations the Chairman of Qatar Petroleum presides over COP18, while CEO’s and other higher-ups of corporations such as Shell, Exxon and others freely wander about the conference center and hold self-congratulatory “sustainability” weekend events for delegates to attend, hiding behind a green washed veneer of social responsibility. Meanwhile, youth are finding their voices increasingly stifled in any meaningful way when it comes to dialogue with the architects of their future.

In my home province of Saskatchewan, reports are emerging around a “collaboration” agreement between Cameco Corporation, Areva Resources and the town of Pinehouse. Cameco and Areva are effectively offering to buy their way into the town, which sits upon the largest undeveloped high-grade uranium deposit in the world.

While offering a lump sum payment coupled with annual deposits into a Pinehouse “trust fund”, in return these corporations are seeking that (and here I quote verbatim from the proposed agreement):

http://committeeforfuturegenerations.fi ... m/2012/11/
collaborationagreement.pdf

“Pinehouse is expected to fully support Cameco/Areva’s mining” and “(Pinehouse) Not make statements or say things in public or to any government, business or agency that opposes Cameco/Areva’s mining operations;

Make reasonable efforts to ensure Pinehouse members do not say or do anything that interferes with or delays Cameco/Areva’s mining, or do or say anything that is not consistent with Pinehouse’s promises under the Collaboration Agreement.”

These may seem like two separate issues but at the crux they are about voice. Who gets heard when making decisions that affect current and future generations? It would seem that these days, whether at home in Saskatchewan or here in Qatar, those with the money are those who do the talking. We are rewarding those who already have the most privilege and silencing those who do not – be it through monetary offerings, lack of access to vital channels of communication or by encouraging social control of dissent.

I have spent a lot of time thinking over my reasons for coming to COP18, especially in times of greater than ever youth marginalization. It seems to me that regardless of where we find ourselves in the world, those of us who speak up and push back are increasingly labeled the troublemakers, the deviations from the “norm” and the “radicals”.

This type of polarizing response, from the UN and from mining companies in Saskatchewan, is a desperate attempt to claim any remaining mainstream political space for themselves, an effort to cling to the final vestiges of empire and control. For anyone invested in changing these systems, it is vital that we being to reclaim these spaces (from the municipal, as in Pinehouse, to the international, as at the UN) as our own. It would be very easy to give up and say that there is no point in speaking out against destructive processes such as these, but if we were to withdraw at any level, we lose.

In my heart, I know that our effectiveness at the moment is measured in the amount of pushback and attempts to stifle us. I know that the corporate elite, both here and at home, is waking up to the threat the climate justice movement poses, because it is one based on human, not monetary, value. And that is what drives me to keep going; that is what gives me hope.

-Karen Rooney

[Oscar]

Australian Anti-Nuclear support for Committee's Action Against Cameco

Monday 10th December 2012

To the Committee for Future Generations,

We send this message of solidarity to you as you embark on a national day of action against Cameco.

As you stand together to defend your country from the dumping of radioactive waste from Cameco, we stand together on the other side of the world to defend our country against the digging up of uranium by Cameco.

We share with you a concern about Cameco and their operations and we share a concern about the threat of dumping radioactive waste on Indigenous communities world-wide. We walk as you do with the goal for bid for a nuclear free future. As you walked in 2011 from Pinehouse to Regina - we walked 12,000 kms from Wiluna to Perth in Western Australia, past the uranium deposit at Yeelirrie that Cameco now wants to exploit.

Yeelirrie – or Ulari means to weep to cry, Yeelirrie is a place of death. We must not disturb this place and having seen this statement from you we are concerned about sending poison from our land to yours. Cameco have 22 uranium sites across Australia – all with a different story.

From Australia to Canada the nuclear industry places an unfair burden on Indigenous communities. While the industry discriminates - radiation does not. We stand united with you across the seas to stop this toxic industry for all of us around the globe and for all our future generations.

We stand in solidarity with you and your campaign goals – and we add our goal of banning uranium mining permanently.

Signed in unity;

Mitch – Co-Chair Australia Nuclear Free Alliance (National Indigenous Alliance)

Dr Jim Green - Nuclear Free Campaigner, Friends of the Earth Australia

Cat Beaton – Nuclear Free Campaigner, Anti Nuclear Northern Territory

Kado Muir - Chairperson, West Australia Nuclear Free Alliance (WA Indigenous Alliance)

Marcus Atkinson – Nuclear Free Campaigner, Anti Nuclear Alliance of West Australia

Mia Pepper – Nuclear Free Campaigner, Conservation Council West Australia

Natalie Wasley – Beyond Nuclear Initiative Co-ordinator & member of Uranium Free NSW

Robin Taubenfeld – Nuclear Free Campaigner, Queensland Nuclear Free Alliance

[Oscar]

‘For the avoidance of any doubt’: Pinehouse signs ‘collaboration agreement’ with Cameco/Areva

http://canadians.org/blog/?p=18558

By Scott Harris, Monday, December 17th, 2012

Despite opposition from residents
[http://committeeforfuturegenerations.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/media-release-pinehouse-residents-decry-imminent-signing-of-uranium-gag-agreement/ ]
in the northern Saskatchewan village of Pinehouse, a controversial “collaboration agreement” has been signed, committing Pinehouse to support uranium giants Cameco and Areva’s mining operations in the region in exchange for monetary payments and promises of preferential workforce and business development opportunities in Pinehouse.
[ http://www.pinehouselake.ca/images/stor ... eement.pdf ]

The agreement between Pinehouse, the Kineepik Metis Nation of Saskatchewan Local #9, and Cameco and Areva was signed in Pinehouse at a December 12 ceremony, despite the fact that most residents had seen only a summary of the agreement, and many were opposed to controversial terms which they said amounted to a “gag order” on opposition to expanded uranium mines in the area.

The morning before the agreement was finalized, residents called for a delay in the signing of the agreement to give adequate time for legitimate consultation.
[http://committeeforfuturegenerations.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/media-release-pinehouse-residents-decry-imminent-signing-of-uranium-gag-agreement/ ]

Pinehouse resident John Smerek said, “There are a lot of questions about the agreement in the community, and we’re being told that a confidentiality clause means we can’t get the answers we need from our administration. To us, it’s a simple issue of democracy. People have a right to see what’s in an agreement before it’s signed, not after. But even though we’ve asked to see the agreement and to have input, the residents here have been totally shut out of the process.”

Despite the agreement being signed, there are indications that the fightback in the community was successful in removing some of the more egregious terms contained in the original summary document shown to residents on November 13.
[http://committeeforfuturegenerations.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/alarming-terms-and-conditions-in-pinehouse-cameco-areva-agreement/ ]

That summary, which Cameco’s Gary Merastry claimed was not a accurate reflection of the agreement in a December 14 interview on CBC’s As It Happens (despite evidence to the contrary outlined later in the show), included terms which aimed to silence voices opposed to expanded uranium development.

[ http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/As+It+Ha ... 316497816/ ]

It stated that Pinehouse would promise to “Not make statements or say things in public or to any government, business agency that opposes Cameco/Areva’s mining operations” and “Make reasonable efforts to ensure Pinehouse members do not say or do anything that interferes with or delays Cameco/Areva’s mining, or do or say anything that is not consistent with Pinehouse’s promises under the Collaboration Agreement.”

While the agreement still commits Pinehouse to fully support the corporations, the “gag order” terms aimed at silencing opposing voices have been removed in the final 63-page text that was released for the first time after being signed, and replaced with the frequently occurring phrase, “For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Article, or in any other term of this Agreement, shall prevent Pinehouse or any of its Residents from raising any concerns of any kind in respect of the Operations or Future Operations in any forum or to any entity whatsoever.”

Another term revealed in the summary document that was released by Pinehouse officials to residents in mid-November stated that “Under the Collaboration Agreement, Pinehouse is expected to fully support Cameco/Areva’s mining,” including existing operations, proposed projects, and, incredibly, even future operations. While the final agreement still commits Pinehouse to fully support present and proposed operations, the commitment to support operations that haven’t even been proposed yet has likewise undergone some changes, now stating (with some exceptions), “The Parties acknowledge that this Agreement does not create any obligations between the Parties in respect of Future Operations.”
[ http://www.pinehouselake.ca/images/stor ... eement.pdf ]

In return for its support, Pinehouse receives an up-front payment of $1 million, additional payments of $500,000 after the Cigar Lake mine begins production, $500,000 after construction of the Milennium mine begins, and annual payments depending on production levels of between $200,000 and $1 million. For comparison, according to Cameco’s April 4, 2012 management information circular (available online in Cameco’s online financial disclosure documents), Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel’s total compensation in 2011 was $6,651,250 (p. 91).
[ http://www.sedar.com/DisplayCompanyDocu ... o=00001296 ]

So while the campaign to have the signing of the agreement delayed until residents were appropriately consulted on the terms was ultimately unsuccessful, the residents’ fight — which gained international attention and support from as far away as Germany, the UK, and Australia — seems to have successfully forced Cameco, Areva, and Pinehouse to back down on some of the terms which residents were most opposed to.
[ http://committeeforfuturegenerations.wo ... ke-action/ ]

And residents say the fight isn’t over yet. Residents and their supporters are analyzing the agreement and are still considering whether to proceed with a court injunction to stop implementation of the agreement.
[ http://committeeforfuturegenerations.wo ... agreement/ ]

For updates and more information on opposition in Pinehouse to the agreement, visit the Committee for Future Generations.
[ committeeforfuturegenerations.wordpress.com ]