The Nunatsiavut Government’s President Johannes Lampe made a presentation at an open house held in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL on April 20th, 2017.
The Presentation included information about the Nunatsiavut Government Departments’ activities, including a response given to the President by the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The response pertained to the letters that the NG President had written twice, asking that the premier request Nalcor to drop all charges to the Land Protectors of the Muskrat Falls Project.
Here are the statements that the NG President has made at the open house:
• I realize that there are those who feel we have done nothing to protect or support those who were charged for violating court injunctions.
• I believe the civil and criminal charges should be dropped. I have personally asked the Premier and I have written him twice asking that he request Nalcor to drop those charges. A copy of our most recent letter, written on April 11, was released publicly and to the media.
• I received a written response to our request last week from Justice Minister and Attorney General Andrew Parsons. The Minister indicated that while he is accountable to the House of Assembly for the operation of the prosecution service, he does not intervene in the day-to-day operation of that service, and that tradition and case law dictate that the Director of Public Prosecutions carries out her functions free from any political interference.
• The Minister also noted that all decisions to prosecute, terminate proceedings or launch an appeal are independent decisions made by individual prosecutors in accordance with established legal criteria, and that the civil and criminal matters against the Labrador Land Protectors must be allowed to take their proper course.
• As a government, and as President, I will continue to advocate when and where I can, on behalf of all Beneficiaries who, in my opinion, should have all charges dropped against them.
• I believe it is unjust, morally wrong and totally unacceptable that people who did nothing other than to try and protect their health, culture and way of life would be treated this way.
• I will be meeting with the Premier again in the coming weeks, and I will once again express my disappointment in how the Labrador Land Protectors have been treated, and to request that Nalcor be asked to consider dropping all civil and criminal matters.
And that was the Nunatsiavut Government’s President Johannes Lampe’s presentation to the open house in Happy Valley-Goose Bay on April 20th, 2017.
We hope to learn more about the progress of NG’s request in the coming weeks.