'Man camp' threat to Mi'kmaw women unchanged since MMIWG inquiry, say advocates

A Mi'kmaw chief and advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girlsis taking a stand against a proposed $13-billion liquid natural gas plant and work campin Nova Scotia.

Final investmentdecisions onthe Goldboro LNGproject, being developed byCalgary-basedPieridae Energy Ltd., are expected by June 30.The project would requirea 5,000-person work camp to build theplant on the province'seastern shore, around 50 kilometres from Paqtnkek First Nation.

Annie Bernard-Daisley, chief of We'koqma'q First Nation and former president of the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association, said she'sconcerned thatresource extraction projects still pose the same threats to Indigenous womenoutlined two years agoin the final reportof the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).

The report drew a link between the resource extraction industry'stransient worker camps and violence against Indigenous women and called for industry to consider the safety of Indigenous women in project planning and mitigate risks.

Bernard-Daisley saidwhile she's worriedabout the project'senvironmental impact and the stress it may puton nearby communities,thepotential harm to Mi'kmaq"tips the scale" for her.

"It's very well documentedthat these camps increase risks to our public, who are already at a higher vulnerability," she said.

"When you look at other camps in the rest of Canada . . . there's nothing that can compare. I don't care what jobs come, what money comes, my entire core tells me that this is wrong."

Mi'kmaw communitiesstand to earn millions fromcontracts forservice delivery at the camp.In aJune 4 news release,the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefssaidthe group will monitor concerns in the event the project moves forward without their participation.Pieridaeis also seeking guidance from the female chiefs on how to mitigate safety concerns.

Bernard-Daisleypoints to data on human trafficking in Mi'kma'ki/the Atlantic region to highlight why she believes sexual violence against Mi'kmaqcould be unavoidable if the project is green-lit.

"It's been two years since [the report] was released," she said.

"If there was any substantial movement surrounding [work camps] across Canada, perhaps my mindset would have been changed,but I've seen no movement. Why are we left to determine the criteria that's going to build a safer 'man camp?'"

Pieridaeworking to address concerns

In an emailed statement, Pieridae spokesperson James Millar said the company isworking with Mi'kmaw communities andhopes "to also include the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association as we look for solutions to address concerns related to the issue."

Millar said Pieridae is preparing information sessions, culturally relevantawareness training, camp safety and security protocols and a "REDress" installation at the entrance to the camp.

Pierdae currentlyhas"policies in place that are strictly followed, including ones such as our Code of Ethical Conduct," he said.

Thedecision to move ahead with the project will involve Goldboro LNGpotentialbusiness partners, including the German companyUniper, which has a 20-year contract to receive half of the project'stotalgas product.

A spokesperson for Uniper said the companyis a customer of Pierdae's, and is"not really a big part" of the project's development.The spokespersondeferred questions about the safety of Indigenous women to back to Pierdae.

Denise Pictou Maloney, aformer employee of the MMIWG inquiry and a family member affected by theissue, said the oil and gas industryneeds to change its approach.

"There's a lot of talk about safety and protections for staff [at the work camps], but the social responsibility is not there," she said.

"I think that we don't have to quantify it by saying 'this many' lives will be lost and then it's a crisis. One woman being impacted by this is too much."