On Tuesday, December 6th, the committee met with representatives of the Lands Claims Agreements Coalition, a First Nations interest group whose mandate is to defend the integrity and implementation of modern First Nations land claims and self-government agreements. The group discussed the twin problems of the lack of full implementation of treaties and of government funding as well as the importance of pursuing economic development on reserves as a partnership between First Nations and the Crown. Their website can be found here.

On Thursday, December 8^th, the committee heard testimony from witnesses from the Institute on Governance. The focus was on the gaps existing in environmental regulatory regimes and the capacity of aboriginal groups to take on greater roles in the development and implementation of regulatory regimes covering various issues from wastewater to ferry transportation.

Before the committee adjourned, Carolyn Bennett (St. Paul’s, Ont., Lib) gave notice of a motion to hold two emergency meetings to address the on-reserve housing crisis confronting First Nations communities across Canada. The text of the motion can be found here.

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The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, the Nlaka’pamux Nation Tribal Council and the Alliance of Tribal Nations have accused the federal government of taking a ‘take it or leave it’ approach to specific land claim negotiations, including imposing an arbitrary cut-off time for negotiations. More than half of all specific claims in Canada are with First Nations in British Columbia.

“The heart of land claims negotiations must be a willingness to talk for as long as it takes,” says Green Aboriginal Affairs Critic Lorraine Rekmans. “There must be trust in the process if we will achieve any resolutions. This failure to address fundamental issues fairly and with respect for good faith and human rights is a blight on all Canadians.  The United Nations has already criticized Canada for its failures.  We must show the world that Canada is fair and just.”

The federal government is apparently attempting to expedite settlements by imposing a three year time limit on some negotiations.

“Our First Nations are simply asking for fair, transparent and timely negotiations.  I think that is more than fair,” said Rekmans.

“What we are hearing from our First Nations is that they are finding the specific claims policy to be adversarial, in appropriate, and unreasonable,” said May.  “Obviously the federal government must develop a process that is collaborative and leads to positive outcomes.”

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