Norms Thoughts on First Nation's Policy

Subject: Norms Thoughts on First Nation's Policy

First Nation Policy Suggestions:

 

Norm’s Preamble:

 

The First Nations issues are a Gordian knot with few easy answers.

 

Canada as a whole should be ashamed of the treatment of the First Nations, but throwing more and more money at the problems and issues has not worked.

 

The issues of First Nations, how they have been dealt with in the past, either under the agreements signed by the Crown, in the beginning, or to date has been atrocious.

 

What we as a provincial party must understand is that the majority of issues related to First Nations are a federal matter. It is in the constitution, and it is a principle the First Nations adhere to in their actions taken to court.

 

Do we want to enter an area that the federal government already spends about $26,000 to $30,000 per status native, Dene, Métis, and Inuit? How much duplication is there, how much more is needed?

 

Yes, as a province we could ask to take on the responsibility of dealing with the First Nations peoples, but we forget the people of the Blackfoot, feel they are not citizens of either Canada or the US of A, as they are citizens of the Blackfoot Confederacy. How does a province deal with that?

 

We also must realize that not all people in the First Nations communities agree with all of the public spokespeople we hear on the issues at hand. In my work I have worked with and talked to many elders, band councils, and organizations that feel they have not been treated or served well, even by their own band councils.

 

Especially female members.

 

From the Penner Report  from, the Special Committee of the House of Commons on Indian Self- Government says that Indian people have the right to a special place within the Canadian Constitution and political system. They say that the relationship today between Indian people and the federal government is not working. Federal policies and agencies are operating to increase Indian poverty and dependence.’

 

If you read the report you will find it comes as close to what I feel is needed to start the process of actually fixing the situation and re-establish the First Nations people as one of the THREE solitudes of Canada. I have made reference to the Three Solitudes by extrapolating from what our  new Governor General said of the, ‘Two,’ solitudes in Canada referring to the two founding cultures of Canada, in her first speech as Governor General.

 

For more information on this report go to:

http://www.sicc.sk.ca/saskindian/a84apr22.htm

 

For information on what the bureaucrats in Ottawa feel, go to:

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ch/rcap/sg/sg27_e.html

 

My concern is that if we as the Alberta Green Party, or even the Federal Green Party of Canada, give the people of the First Nations a position in the country as being apart from Canada, and all of its laws, such as environmental, then we put to rest the idea that we believe the environment is system that needs to be dealt with as a whole and not just a separate idea to be dealt with in isolation from all other government policies.

 

So I would suggest we look at how much independence we as a provincial political party advocate for in our First Nations policies.

 

Do we mean to say that people of the Montana First Nations can built a nuclear plant on their land, and not follow the laws, regulations and policies of either the Federal or Provincial governments? Theoretically they can.

 

If you decide we allow those peoples to be separate and apart from Canada’s laws, then you are also saying that they can build a nuclear plant on their land, because it is their land and we cannot direct them otherwise.

 

As an example, the people of the Morley nation were given control of the natural resources as in forests about five or six years ago. The trees were stripped from the land in a clear cutting fashion and led to severe environmental damage to the land, that affected the water and run off in the Elbow and Bow for those that benefit from those systems downstream. The financial benefits of the logging were not spread evenly in the tribe, and were not properly supervised by their own band council.

 

So does the province have the right to impose the same rules and regulations on that logging operation as they do in a similar one in Spray Lakes?

 

When the Lubicon or Montana First Nations People demand on of the oil and gas revenue under their lands to be paid to them as they own the rights, how do we justify that when our own courts have said the oil and gas are owned by the Province, and thus people not living on the First Nations land must cede control over their land to the crown and all of the ownership of the minerals under it?

 

If we set up the Bioregional Management Boards, do we exclude First Nations? If we include them, and they insist on on the notion that they are not bound by the provincial laws on their land, how will these boards become effective. Some of the bioregional boards will be made up of large land parcels owned and controlled by the First Nations people.

 

What about the Morley people who are building a large casino and hotel complex at highway 40 and Highway 1? If they need water and the Bow River water levels can not sustain their needs, can we deny them access to the water in the Bow?

 

If they decide to drill a water well, will that have an adverse affect on the wells around it, or disturb the groundwater aquifers to the point that it will in deed have an affect on either the water levels in the Bow or Elbow?

 

What if the province decides that the development is unsustainable for the areas environment, and denies permits to hook it up to a sewage system? What if the City decides the new casino on the Tsu Tsina land is not viable with regards to traffic, utilities, and infrastructure. Does it have the right, or will it be given the right under the Municipal Government Act by a provincial Green Party government, to deny hooking water, sewer, and roads up to the facility?

 

We hear of hunting and fishing rights for First Nations being outside of provincial regulation. Do we want that?

 

What if the province wants to suspend the fishing of a specific species of fish in a river system to let it come back? Does that apply to the First Nations the river runs through?

 

I realize it sounds like the perfect thing to do, to rush into the area of First Nations and all of the issues that are connected to that, but we must create policy that shows people we understand the issues and exactly what is needed. That means for the First Nations that in the far remote north, or those that border on a large urban centre like Calgary or Edmonton, and all the benefits that brings.

 

That does not mean we should not tackle this area, but it means we must tackle it with our minds focused on the appropriate areas of provincial responsibility.

 

My policy suggestions:

 

• To demand the Federal government adopt the Penner Report in the next Parliament, and to implement it in five years.

 

• To demand the Federal government to guarantee every First Nations person will have access to potable water, in their communities in five years.

 

• The Provincial government will ensure its complete cooperation on the Lubicon First Nations issues and matters.

 

• To ensure all people of the First Nations with in Alberta have access to high speed internet, at home, at school, and/or at the band council offices.

 

• To have the concept of the Indian Village at the Calgary Stampede scrapped and have the people of the First Nations become an integrated part of the exhibition and not just an added on show piece.

 

• Annually to hold a provincial government Cabinet meeting with all of the Chiefs of the First Nations people Métis, and Dene in Alberta.

 

• Ask the Lieutenant Governor to establish a council of First Nations elders and chiefs to advise on matters related to their government in Alberta