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First Nations chiefs in Saskatchewan are warning that a piece of legislation seeking to wrestle more control from the federal government could lead to protest blockades if the bill is not scrapped.

The Saskatchewan First Act, which passed its second reading in November, aims to unilaterally amend the Constitution to assert provincial jurisdiction over resources and set up a tribunal to be used in future court cases. The legislation has been compared to the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, which purports to give that province the ability to refuse to enforce federal laws it believes intrude on its jurisdiction.

Indigenous groups in both provinces have opposed the respective pieces of legislation, arguing that the bills infringe on treaty rights.

“Political avenues, legal avenues are in place,” said Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan. “If all else fails, we will blockade.”

Mr. Cameron said he will no longer be asking to sit down with the Saskatchewan Party government to discuss the legislation, which he said is unconstitutional and infringes on Indigenous rights.

Premier Scott Moe has said the act doesn’t affect treaty rights and is aimed at growing the economy to benefit all people, including Indigenous people.

Mr. Cameron said the federation is also looking to file legal action after the holiday season, which he said could take years in the courts.

“We are going to take action and we are going to do it really quick.”

About 35 First Nations chiefs joined Cameron on Friday to show solidarity and call on lawmakers to discard the bill.

Chief Evan Taypotat of Kahkewistahaw First Nation said the only way to get the provincial government to listen is to have thousands of Indigenous people head to the highways, railways and city streets.

“Enough is enough,” Mr. Taypotat said. “We tried to be rational, we tried to be diplomatic. We’d like to solve this in a boardroom, but that’s not going to happen.”

Chief Margaret Bear of Ochapowace First Nation said the bill symbolizes a breach to treaty and inherent Indigenous rights. She said it takes a lot of gall for the Saskatchewan government to think they have the rights of all lands and resources.

“We are the original rights holder of this land,” she said. “No policy or act is going to tell us different.”

Alberta’s sovereignty act, a key promise from Premier Danielle Smith’s successful United Conservative Party leadership campaign, received royal assent this week. The law has been controversial since its inception, particularly a provision in the original draft that gave cabinet the power to rewrite laws outside of the legislative process; those provisions were removed before the bill passed.

Ms. Smith has repeatedly insisted that the law would not trample on Indigenous rights, pointing to provisions within the act that explicitly protect Constitutional rights for Indigenous Peoples. The chiefs of Treaty 6, Treaty 7, Treaty 8 nations all opposed the act and called for Alberta’s Lieutenant-Governor to reject it.

The Treaty 6 chiefs issued a statement Friday that said they were not surprised that the act received royal ascent but were “beyond disappointed.”

“Colonial systems continue their main goal of silencing our people and ignoring our rights,” the statement said. “Our fight isn’t over, we are examining our next steps to see that the Sovereignty Act is retracted.”

With files from Globe Staff

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