OTTAWA—New Democrat Leader Thomas Mulcair says aboriginal unrest is the negative result of the Conservative government’s heavy-handed approach to the development of natural resources.

“They are simply paying the price of their bloody-minded determination to get what they want from the top down and in this day and age, you can no longer have these big development projects go from the top down,” Mulcair said in an interview Monday with the Star.

“You have to work with the grassroots.”

That advice goes beyond how to deal with the threats of economic disruption associated with Idle No More, a grassroots aboriginal protest movement sparked by anger over how the Conservative government passed changes to regulations governing environmental protection using omnibus budget implementation bills.

“The results we are trying to get, the solutions that we need to find together, are not just for First Nations, they’re for all Canadians for generations to come,” Mulcair said.

The interview came on the eve of a so-called summit Mulcair will be host of Tuesday in Ottawa, when provincial NDP leaders nationwide gather for working meetings. It is part of an effort to boost the credibility of the left-of-centre party on economic issues and learn from the experience of governing leaders such as Manitoba Premier Greg Sellinger and Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter.

The “vision for the future” that Mulcair plans to put on the table Tuesday involves keeping both the economy and the environment in good health.

That is nothing new from Mulcair, who has been championing the idea of “polluter pay” as part of sustainable development, meaning any cost to the environment should be included in the cost of running the Alberta oil sands and other natural resource extraction projects.

Now, against the backdrop of Idle No More, the ongoing fast of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence and the meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Assembly of First Nations, Mulcair stressed that resource revenue-sharing is part of that balanced equation.

“Addressing issues like the fair sharing of revenues with First Nations is an issue of sustainability,” said Mulcair, adding that it is “as important” as the environmental aspect of sustainable development.

The Assembly of First Nations went into the Friday meeting with Harper asking that a federal minister, possibly Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, be designated to bring together First Nations and provincial premiers to figure out how they can share revenues from resource development.

This demand was not met. Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan told reporters after the meeting that while the federal government recognizes that giving native bands access to resource royalties is part of any discussion about improving economic conditions for First Nations, any changes will have to be discussed with provinces because they have jurisdiction over resources.

Mulcair agreed “the provinces have to be at the table” and noted that Harper has declined to sit down with premiers at the Council of the Federation.

Mulcair pointed to successful examples of revenue-sharing, such as the agreement between the Quebec government and the Grand Council of the Crees now known as La Paix des Braves (“The Peace of the Braves”).

It is an agreement to share revenues and management of hydroelectric power, mining and forestry projects on traditional Cree territory in northern Quebec.

Mulcair said development of the Ring of Fire, an area rich with minerals in northern Ontario, could be another model for success if it is done right.

“It is going to be a big mineral play and it is going to be one where we are going to figure out how to create wealth and share the jobs and the future with First Nations, or we are going to be setting ourselves up to fall,” Mulcair said.

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Joining Mulcair, Sellinger and Dexter at the meeting will be: B.C. NDP Leader Adrian Dix who, polls suggest, is poised to win the spring election there; Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason; Saskatchewan acting NDP Leader John Nilson; Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath; New Brunswick NDP Leader Dominic Cardy; Newfoundland and Labrador NDP Leader Lorraine Michael;, and Mike Redmond, the NDP leader for Prince Edward Island.

NDP MP Robert Aubin, the chair of the Quebec caucus, will also be there, as will NDP MP Dennis Bevington (Western Arctic), because Yukon NDP Leader Liz Hanson could not attend.

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