George Poitras, former chief of the Mikisew Cree and now director of economic development for the Fort Chipewyan band, is among the First Nations leaders in northern Alberta who have turned their backs on the provincial government’s efforts to organize a watershed advisory planning council for the Athabasca River.

“We want the Alberta government to know that we’re serious about protecting the water of the Athabasca,” Poitras said in an interview this week.

“We feel that we have a right to make the government more accountable and responsible in seriously and continuously addressing issues related to water quality and water quantity.”

 Poitras led a demonstration to the steps on the Alberta legislature on the eve of the last provincial election and was part of a delegation that placed  Fort Chipewyan’s concerns about the Athabasca River  before the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

The First Nations of Fort Chipewyan, the Mikisew Cree and Athabasca Chipewyan, did not send delegates to the first organizing meeting for the Athabasca WPAC. Instead, they are focusing their efforts on hosting a conference on water issues in mid-August.

An advisor on environmental issues to First Nations in northern Alberta said their distrust with industry and the provincial and federal governments “is deep and profound.”

“They can point to many instances where government has reneged on meaningful environmental agreements that were struck and not delivered,” said the advisory, who spoke frankly on the condition of anonymity.

The advisor gave the debate around in-stream flow needs as an example. “We reached a number, but when the oil industry rejected it, the government backed away. Albert Environment has done that whenever industry objects:  they change the name of the project and start the process over again with a new deliverable. It’s very frustrating.”

The advisor said that the federal government is present at such debates over in-stream flow needs, with the department of Fisheries and Oceans sitting at the table, but “Ottawa, under the Conservatives, has sided with Alberta on water issues and allowed development to go ahead.”

“The big issue now is that Alberta Environment claims to have a handle on cumulative environmental effects, through CEMA,” the advisor said, “It’s the first level of distrust because it is all industry driven, led and decided on.”

CEMA, Cumulative Environmental Management Association, was established a decade ago and charged with monitoring conditions in the Athabasca River. It has been criticized by scientists, among them world-renowned water expert David Schindler, for failing to deliver on its mandate.