Yep, this is a long post, but IMHO, its an important one... Most Canadians may not understand the implications & benefits of the Supreme Courts 8-0 ruling for the Tsilhqotin Nation this morning that upholds the Aboriginal rights & title as defined in our Constitution. Im hoping the upset Canadians will finally agree that its time to save some serious taxpayer dollars by more carefully reading & then HONOURING contracts/laws/agreements we wrote and imposed on Aboriginal people... because all 8 judges just agreed to another Federal Court ruling that AGAIN asserts that Aboriginal rights are protected by the laws we made. But more importantly Im hoping that Canadians working to create more respectful, meaningful and inclusive relationships with Aboriginal people will see this ruling for the Tsiilhqotin Nation (pronounced, Tsill - KO - teen) as a solid step towards working together to push for the resolution of more land claims and/or treaties...so we can have certainty to create a more socially just and prosperous Canada that includes ALL its citizens. As UBCIC Grand Chief Stewart Philliip says on their FB page, ...recognizing Indigenous Title and Rights does not diminish Canadian society, it enriches it. BC AFN Chief Jody Wilson-Raybould shares the enthusiasm to work together, stating, The decision is an opportunity to truly settle, once and for all, the land question in BC...there must be true reconciliation based on recognition and where the outcome of negotiations is certain. Now I admit that growing up in my wonderfully privileged little oil-driven hamlet outside of Edmonton for the first 25 years of life left me woefully ignorant about local & national First Nations & Métis histories, injustices, Treaties, legal rights, issues & opportunities, differences & common experiences. From what Ive learned in the last 15 years working with many Indigenous groups around the unceded Coast Salish territories of Vancouver, MOST of the rest of Canada already has First Nations & Inuit treaties & agreements in place. This provides some certainty in the rest of Canada; at least there is a contract-like framework for negotiations between governments. Whether or not people think those treaties were fair exchanges (often less than 5% of traditional territory was awarded to the Peoples whod lived on those lands for thousands of years before European contact and those First Peoples were soon governed by a whole bunch of Indian Act limitations/legislations), at least those treaties DO provide stability for companies & all levels of government looking to: do business in (or with) First Nations territories to develop projects & businesses; improve health & education levels in all Canadians; create resource sharing agreements, & (of course); undertake all sizes of economic development initiatives. Basically, from what my un-lawyer brain can comprehend, Im pretty sure that slightly less than 10% of BC land currently falls under a signed treaty. Theres about 61 First Nations representing just over half of BCs Bands recognized by the Indian Act Bands in some stage of the treaty process. For various reasons, many Indigenous communities in BC are not even engaged in the treaty process. This is partly because when BC joined Confederation in 1871, there were only 14 small Vancouver Island treaties signed... & the Canadian government quickly made it illegal for First Nations to hire a lawyer to negotiate land claims (that idiotic, racist law was overturned in 1971)! See the excellent FAQ section at the BC Treaty Commission site: bctreaty.ca/files/faqs.php). Plus, its expensive to pay laywers. Plus many First Nations & Tribal Council groups (and non-Native policy makers) simply oppose the treaty process...so we (in BC) are realllllly far behind in negotiations treaties & agreements, etc. Hundreds of unsettled land claims & court cases will continue to halt projects, community development, & many investments in our province. Todays announcement (below) by Canadas Chief Justice, Beverley McLachlin means that the Supreme Court of Canada overturned a BC provincial court decision against the Tsilhqotin Nation. The province had given a logging company permission - without proper consent, consideration or consultation - to cut trees on traditional lands on their traditional territory without proper consent or consultation. After 25 years of court battles and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills on both sides, todays ruling is another step in reinforcing what was already laid out in the Royal Proclamation waaaay back in 1793 and expanded in Canadas Constitution in 1982. In fact, by ignoring those defined rights, and erroneously awarding the logging permit, the BC government created the grounds for todays ruling that now legally expanded Aboriginal title rights and forces future developers to be way more proactive in engaging, with, consulting, including and respecting local rights... because ALL judges agreed, “The right to control the land conferred by Aboriginal title means that governments and others seeking to use the land must obtain the consent of the Aboriginal title holders,” even if a treaty is not in place!!!! “If the Aboriginal group does not consent to the use, the government’s only recourse is to establish that the proposed incursion on the land is justified” under the Constitution. ctvnews.ca/canada/landmark-land-title-ruling-what-it-means-and-what-comes-next-1.1887505# Heres a couple of other early reactions to the news... Again, Im not a lawyer and Ive only been RE-learning this for about 15 years, but any grade 2 kid would agree its time (and cheaper) to move forward working together to right past wrongs... or at least to be more inclusive and respectful in future contracts/developments/negotiations. Or its gonna cost us all a lot more in wasted time, lost investments, social costs, & lawyers fees! theglobeandmail/news/national/supreme-courts-land-rights-ruling-could-imperil-northern-gateway-pipeline/article19345715/ UBCIC, @JodyWilsonRaybould
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 20:17:31 +0000
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