Lubicon Lake Indian Nation
P.O. Box 6731
Peace River Alberta T8S 1S5
Telephone (780) 629-3945
Fax (780) 629-3939
November 15, 2006
Daniel Kumpf
Director, First Nations Relations, Treaty
Alberta Regional Office
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
630 Canada Place
9700 Canada Place
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4G2
Fax: 495-3779
Dear Mr. Kumpf:
The Lubicon water and sewer proposal, which we put together over the last three years in consultation with Departmental officials including George Arcand, totals either $1.2 million or $2.5 million depending upon which source of water proves most suitable. Your officials have checked and confirmed the numbers.
You tell us that you have so far identified $250,000 and that you are optimistic that you will be able to find another $160,000 which, taken together with the $250,000 currently identified, should cover sinks and toilets, the installation of water and sewer tanks and the upgrading of driveways necessary to deliver water and haul away sewage. However you are so far unable to say where the money will come from to provide the water and dispose of the sewage.
It wouldn’t make sense or be responsible for either of us to upgrade driveways and install sinks, toilets, and water and sewer tanks until we know where the water is going to come from, how the sewage is going to be disposed of and how all of this is going to be paid for.
Neither does it make sense for the Lubicon people to proceed with badly needed provision of water and sewer services to our elderly people in a way that jeopardizes the land rights upon which the future of all Lubicon people depends. The Lubicons have to be concerned not only about the delivery of badly needed water and sewer services to our old people, but also the vital heritage of our children and grandchildren. Consequently, as we have consistently indicated, we do not see the proposed 65-mile long Sunrise County pipeline, which by your own calculation won’t be built for years in any case, as a viable source of potable water for our people.
It is also very clear from the cost estimates that hiring outsiders to deliver the water to our community and haul away the sewage, even on an interim basis, would be prohibitively expensive and cost more in one year than it would cost for the Lubicon people to build our own water treatment facility and sewage lagoon, plus of course employ our own people and provide our own water and sewer service under our own duly elected government. From any reasonable perspective, our goal must therefore be full implementation of the water and sewer proposal that we’ve developed jointly with Departmental officials over the last three-year period.
In this context the Lubicon people are prepared to implement our June 22, 2005 water and sewer proposal piecemeal, as you suggested in our meeting of November 10, 2006, provided that we have written agreement in advance as to where the water is going to come from, how the sewage is going to be disposed of and how all of this is going to be paid for. Our jointly prepared proposal spells out how this objective can be accomplished technically. I suggest we turn our attention to the type of agreement required to responsibly proceed with proposed piecemeal implementation.
I see no good reason why you cannot designate the currently identified $250,000 for the first phase of full implementation of the June 22nd proposal so it won’t be lost. Expenditure of the funds wouldn’t be possible immediately in any case and you will need to identify the additional $160,000 for us to proceed with the first phase work you’ve proposed.
Sincerely,
ORIGINAL SIGNED BY
Bernard Ominayak
Chief, Lubicon Lake Indian Nation