Media.Knet.Ca

With this logic, anyone who use to live in any other community in Canada should be eligible to decide how that community should be managed ...

Funding this type of CAP "attack First Nation research" seems to be another strategy to continue the erosion of funding in First Nations to help the provinces and the cities pay for people who choose to leave their communities. Resourcing these urban-based organizations and their staff from funds intended to support First Nations and Inuit services continues to create further poverty in remote and rural communities. 

CAP news release . . .

Democratic reform key to protection of human rights for first nation citizens  - New CAP study identifies "fundamental flaws" in on-reserve governance in many communities

(Ottawa, ON – July 15, 2008) While Canada’s tradition of fair and democratic governance is known and respected the world over, the same cannot be said for the state of democracy in many of its First Nations communities.

A new study commissioned by the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) and funded by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada notes several fundamental flaws in many of the electoral codes in place for over half of the six hundred plus reserve communities in Canada.

The report, entitled “Justice Is Equality”, sought to review electoral codes in select First Nations communities to determine the extent of their compatibility with several federal statutes, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Privacy Act, and the Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act.

The study also undertook to determine the extent of First Nations communities’ compliance with the Supreme Court of Canada’s 1999 Corbiere decision, which affirmed the rights of First Nations citizens living away from reserves to vote in elections for Chief and Band Council.

The analysis by the Congress examined electoral codes from select First Nations communities that opt to conduct their elections via a “custom” process. These codes are supposed to be rooted in practices and procedures that reflect the ancestral and contemporary customs developed by the community. Such codes fall outside the federal government’s oversight provisions that govern elections for Chief and Band Council under the federal Indian Act.

Of the over six hundred reserve communities across Canada, three-hundred and forty-four use custom electoral processes.

The study’s findings identify several areas where improvements in democratic governance and compliance with federal law are required. Among them is the fact that despite the Supreme Court’s affirmation of off-reserve voting rights through the Corbiere decision, residency on-reserve is still an eligibility criteria for voting in all too many instances.

As a result, CAP is advocating that Aboriginal Residency be added to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination identified in the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The findings also confirm that there is a pressing need for reform of custom electoral codes to ensure that they respect and adhere to the provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Privacy Act and the Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act.

The study also pointed to other measures that seek to improve the application of effective and representative democracy in First Nations communities. These include developing and implementing an effective, accountable and reliable system for mail-in ballots in order to ensure that off-reserve band members’ right to exercise their vote is enabled.

Further suggested measures include case studies relating to decisions from the Federal Court of Canada, to better inform both the federal government and First Nations band councils of the latest developments in the court’s interpretations and rulings in respect of custom electoral codes.

The Congress also recommends the development of a sample hybrid custom code to reflect best practices in both ancestral and contemporary customs for use as a template in the application of custom electoral codes.

CAP’s National Chief, Patrick Brazeau, defined the report’s findings as integral to the protection of human rights for First Nations citizens. “The most fundamental element of building sustainable and prosperous communities is the application of fairness and accountability inherent to effective democratic governance,” said the National Chief.

“Canada’s laws and the decisions of its Supreme Court clearly support this. So does international law. The United Nations, in Article 33 of its Declaration on Indigenous Rights affirmed that “indigenous peoples have the right to promote, develop and maintain their institutional structures and their distinctive juridical customs, traditions, procedures and practices, in accordance with internationally recognized human rights standards,” cited the National Chief.

“Many of Chiefs and band council members took part in the UN’s deliberations around this. They have been strong and vocal proponents of these international measures. Yet, there appears to be an obvious reluctance by many Chiefs and councils to respect and reflect their intended purpose of these measures at the community level here in their own backyards here in Canada,” said National Chief Brazeau.

The National Chief was emphatic in his conclusions on the basis of the reports findings: “First Nations leaders argue that they have an inherent right to self-government. Their choice of custom electoral codes reflects this belief. If true democracy and freedom is to exist in First Nations communities, such a choice requires that the leadership be accountable to their electorate, in full respect of and adherence to applicable laws,” said the National Chief.

The complete report, “Justice Is Equality”, is available at:

http://www.abo-peoples.org/policy/corbiere.html

- 30 -

For further information, please contact:
Al Fleming
Director of Public Affairs
Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
613-747-6022 (office)
613-867-8696 (mobile)
al@abo-peoples.org