On "mumbo jumbo"

Lake Melville MHA Keith Russell is apparently rather orthodox in his religious views:

“And you have people talking about Mother Earth and sacred waters and, you know, spirits flowing through these rivers. And that’s all well and good. But people have to understand too that there is a need for this development. We do need this power ...

"I don’t buy into the mumbo jumbo about the trail leading to the Muskrat Falls site as being sacred ground. You can romanticize and sensationalize that particular piece of land all you want, but it is a resource.”

Slight problem for the Hon. Member — one person's "mumbo jumbo" might well be another person's legally recognized and protected traditional belief.

Like, say, in the Labrador Inuit land and self-government agreement, in effect the constitutional document of the Nunatsiavut Government, the Labrador Inuit self-governing authority... of which Keith Russell was once an Hon. Member.

The Labrador Inuit agreement contains eight provisions concerning spiritual or sacred sites, or, as the former member of the Nunatsiavut Assembly might better know them as, "mumbo jumbo".

10.4.3 The draft of the Land Use Plan must provide for the management of land, water and resource use in the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area and shall take into consideration and account for:

(f) cultural factors and priorities, including the protection and preservation of Archaeological Sites, sites of religious or spiritual significance to Inuit, Inuit burial sites and Aullâsimavet;

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15.2.1 Archaeological Materials, Archaeological Sites and Inuit Cultural Materials provide a record of Inuit prehistory, history and use and occupancy of the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area over time and are of ethnological, spiritual, cultural, historic, religious and educational importance to Inuit. The Parties therefore recognize that Inuit have an interest in and a role to play in their management, as set out in this chapter.

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15.3.3 The Nunatsiavut Government may make laws in relation to:

(a) the protection or disturbance of Inuit burial sites or sites of religious or spiritual significance to Inuit in Labrador Inuit Lands and the Inuit Communities;

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15.6.13 A Permitting Authority shall require that a Permit Holder:

(h) avoid any disturbance of a site known to contain human remains or a site of religious or spiritual significance to Inuit unless explicitly authorized to do so;

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15.8.2 Inuit burial sites and sites of religious or spiritual significance to Inuit shall be identified by Inuit and a list identifying such sites shall be provided to Canada and the Province by the Effective Date. The list shall not be definitive and may be amended or supplemented by the Nunatsiavut Government which shall then provide the list, as amended or supplemented, to Canada and the Province.

15.8.3 The Minister shall Consult the Nunatsiavut Government prior to issuing a permit authorizing a disturbance of a site identified in the list referred to in section 15.8.2 or that the Minister has reason to believe is an Inuit burial site or a site of religious or spiritual significance to Inuit. The Consultation shall be for the purpose of attempting to reach agreement on whether the site may be disturbed and if so on what terms and conditions. If agreement is not reached, the Minister shall give the Nunatsiavut Government the reasons, in writing, for the Minister’s decision to authorize disturbance of the site.

15.8.4 If the Minister has reason to believe that a site contains Inuit human remains or is of spiritual or religious significance to Inuit and may be threatened by an Archaeological Activity, the Minister, after Consulting the Nunatsiavut Government, may cancel or amend the terms or conditions of the permit authorizing the Archaeological Activity. The Consultation shall be for the purpose of attempting to reach agreement on the cancellation or amendment of the terms or conditions. If agreement is not reached, the Minister shall give the Nunatsiavut Government written reasons for the decision.

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17.8.1 The Nunatsiavut Government may make laws in relation to Inuit culture and Inuktitut in Labrador Inuit Lands and the Inuit Communities, including:

(a) laws to preserve, promote and develop Inuit spiritual beliefs, Inuit sacred knowledge and Inuit sacred sites;