By Eric Bowling, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWT News/North Former Tthebatthie Denesuline (Smith’s Landing) chief Gerry Cheezie is not mincing words about plans between the Alberta government and Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) to change the legal framework governing the watersheds of Northern Alberta that feed into the Northwest Territories. “When we signed Treaty 8 on July 17, 1899, there was no talk about Alberta,” he said. “Alberta just happened to be created in 1905. Then in 1930, under the Natural Resources Transfer Act, some old white guys in Ottawa and some old white guys in Alberta signed an agreement that <expletive> stole all our land and resources. “They don’t pay for any of this water usage — they use all this water for free. To produce one barrel…
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