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Assembly of First Nations Bulletin - Specific Claims

March 2007 Communiqué from National Chief Phil Fontaine

The Assembly of First Nations issues regular updates on the National Chief’s activities and work underway at the national office. More information can be found on the AFN’s website at www.afn.ca.

Specific Claims

There is currently a backlog of approximately 1062 unresolved claims within the federal specific claims process. Estimates of the total value of these unresolved claims range between $2.6 and $6 billion. Although First Nations have been working with the federal government for the past eight years to find solutions to the current backlog, to date, these efforts have not met with success. These efforts began in 1998 with the Joint First Nations – Canada Task Force on Specific Claims Policy Reform (the “Task Force”). The report of the Task Force, which was issued in 1998, proposed a detailed and technically sound model Bill. The federal government did not implement the Task Force recommendations.

However, the Government of Canada did unilaterally draft and pass Bill C-6, also known as the Specific Claims Resolution Act (SCRA), without the approval or support of First Nations. Although the SCRA received Royal Assent on November 7, 2003, it has not yet been proclaimed into force. The Chiefs-in-Assembly, through official resolutions, have made it clear that they do not accept the SCRA in its current form, and have called for it to be amended or withdrawn.

In 2006, the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples was charged with the responsibility to examine the nature and status of the Government of Canada’s specific claims policy. In its deliberations, the Senate Committee heard from a range of groups and individuals including the Minister of Indian Affairs, the Department of Justice, lawyers engaged in private practice, and various First Nations leaders and organizations, including the Assembly of First Nations (AFN). Minister Prentice is on record at these hearings declaring that, due to its unacceptability to First Nations, the SCRA must be reformed, rewritten or discarded altogether.

The AFN made submissions to the Senate Committee on November 8, 2006. In our submissions the AFN continued to press for the establishment of an independent claims resolution body, increased funding for claims resolution and First Nations participation in the process, and for specific claims to be characterized as contingent liabilities.

Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples

In December 2006, the Senate Committee released its final report on the federal specific claims process, entitled “Negotiation or Confrontation: It’s Canada’s Choice.” We are pleased to report that the Senate Committee has, for the most part, endorsed all of the recommendations made by the AFN.

Summary of Recommendations
The Committee made a number of recommendations to address flaws with the existing claims resolution process and to reduce the backlog, including:

1. Establishment of a New Independent Claims Resolution Body

The Committee endorsed the establishment of a new independent claims resolution body. In particular, the Committee recommended:

• That the Government of Canada start work immediately to establish a new body independent of government with the mandate and power to resolve Specific Claims.
• That the new body be established in full partnership with First Nations.
• That the joint process for establishing the new body be sufficiently resourced to enable the body to be operational within two years of the next budget date.
• That the new body be fully capable of reaching settlement agreements on claims within five years of their submission to the independent body.

In his submissions to the Committee, the Minister also endorsed the establishment of a new independent body. Thus, there is considerable room for optimism that the federal government may be willing to establish a new independent body and to allocate resources for this purpose.

2. Specific Claims Resolution Act

The Committee recommended that the SCRA be repealed. First Nations clearly favour the options and legislative framework for reforming the specific claims process that is set out in the Joint Task Force Report. However, a repeal of the SCRA would require First Nations and the federal government to start from scratch in developing legislation to establish a new independent claims resolution body. Thus, while First Nations prefer the approach set out in the Joint Task Force Report, it may also be possible to address First Nations interests and concerns with a modest package of amendments to the SCRA. Further debate on the advantages and disadvantages of repealing the SCRA is required.

3. Funding for Indian and Northern Affairs and the Department of Justice

The Committee made the following recommendations regarding the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) and the Department of Justice (DOJ):

• That Canada increase the financial/human resources for claims resolution at DOJ and DIAND to improve the existing process and move a significant portion of the unresolved claims forward before the new body is in operation.
• That Canada ensure that human resources assigned to Specific Claims at DIAND and DOJ are working in teams in a common location in order to improve communication, file management, and the timely resolution of valid claims.

4. Funding for First Nations to Research and Negotiate Claims

The Committee recommended that the Government of Canada provide sufficient funding for the human and financial resources that First Nations require to research and prepare their claims submissions.

5. Establishment of a Specific Claims Fund

The Committee recommended that the Government of Canada establish a dedicated fund for the payment of Specific Claims settlements. The Committee further recommended that these funds:

• not be allocated to other spending priorities;
• not lapse at the end of the fiscal year and any unused funds in a given fiscal year be carried forward to subsequent fiscal years; and
• be for an amount no less than $250 million per year.

In our submission to the Senate Committee, the AFN recommended that the backlog be reduced in 3 to 5 years and that $1.5 billion be allocated to jumpstart settlements. An estimate of the contingent liability in 2005 dollars places the value of unresolved claims at $6 billion. At $250 million per year, it will take 24 years to resolve the current backlog. However, at $500-$750 million per year, the backlog could be reduced in 3 to 5 years.

6. Contingent Liability

The Committee recommended that Specific Claims be identified as contingent liabilities.

7. Access to Information

The Committee recommended that the Government of Canada ensure that First Nations have equal access to government records necessary for documenting their specific claims.

8. New Guiding Principles

The Committee recommended that the principles of fairness, inclusion, dialogue and recognition of regional differences be used as guidelines for both the development of a new independent body and for any reforms to the existing process in the interim, including:

• Fairness: full disclosure of arguments, legal opinions, and other negotiations; full access to records and information; no penalizing effect on compensation levels due to other First Nations’ settlements.
• Inclusion: inclusion of First Nations leaders in reforming the Specific Claims process; cooperation with First Nations leaders in designing the structure and operations of a new independent body; involvement of other stakeholders such as provincial and territorial governments to arrive at mutually acceptable settlements earlier.
• Recognition of Regional Differences: processes appropriately adapted to regional differences including those accommodating the fact that the greatest number of outstanding Specific Claims are from BC; inclusion of oral history relevant to understanding First Nations’ experience.
• Dialogue: open and transparent communications to eliminate the “us versus them” atmosphere; truth and the exercise of good will to resolve claims cooperatively and more quickly.

Next Steps
In a letter to the Minister dated March 7, 2007, the National Chief urged the federal government to endorse the Senate Committee’s recommendation to establish a new independent claims resolution body in partnership with First Nations and to establish a Specific Claims Fund for settlement purposes. The National Chief also urged the federal government to endorse the Committee’s recommendations to allocate sufficient resources to the specific claims process, both in the short-term and over the longer-term for First Nations, the DOJ, and DIAND to advance and review claims.

Despite our repeated efforts, AFN has not had the resources to organize important committee meetings on this matter. Our efforts continue and officials are meeting with the Minister’s office to confirm a process that will improve the specific claims process, resolve the outstanding backlog of specific claims and establish a new independent claims body. We will keep you posted on our progress as we all appreciate the importance of this matter. Resolution of specific claims forms part of Canada’s national debt owed to First Nations and progress on their resolution is an essential measure to advance First Nations economic and social development.

Meegwetch!

Assembly of First Nations, 473 Albert Street suite 810, Ottawa, Ontario K1R 5B4 1-866-869-6789 or by fax at 613-241-5808 www.afn.ca

Bi-National 2007 Forum
Native American and First Nation Business Summit
First People, First Partners, First Choice

March 27th & 28th 2007
The Travel Lodge Airlane
Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Bi-National Forum 2007 will unite Canadian First Nation and US Native American business leaders with leading corporations and government agencies to explore new potential for trade and cross-border business, economic, & investment opportunities and partnerships.

The Bi-National Forum 2007 is an excellent opportunity to showcase leading edge pathways and opportunities for Aboriginal business development and expansion. It is our mission to provide a forum that reaches beyond borders, where Aboriginal businesses and organizations can engage to develop new cross-border synergies and potential for strategic alliances.

The Forum will facilitate cross-border discussions among Aboriginal business leaders and Fortune 500 companies seeking ‘minority content’ in its supply chain and will highlight those organizations that can assist in the ‘minority supplier certification’ process.

The Bi-National Forum is just a starting point to the long-term development of direct channels for business linkages between two unique Aboriginal settings. It marks the initiation of meaningful dialogue and serious examination of innovative avenues for cross-jurisdictional economic development and foreign direct investment opportunities.

This inaugural event will provide networking events, workshops and seminars with experts from a wide variety of sectors including minority procurement, trade, and investment. The forum will also include a tradeshow featuring 20 spaces for exhibitors and sponsors from both Canada and the United States.

A limited number of sponsorship opportunities are available on varying levels and provide unique exposure to a targeted and dynamic audience. Whether you want to join our inaugural event as a unique promotional partner, sponsor a networking lunch or reserve a Trade Show booth to showcase your business or organization, contact us today to find out more about our sponsorship packages and rates.

Email: sponsorship@binationalforum.ca
For more information visit:
www.binationalforum.ca

To register for the Bi-National Forum 2007, please contact our conference coordinator:

Stephanie Ash
1 (807) 767-4443
email: stephanie@binationalforum.ca

Various Conference Packages including accomodations are available. Call today to take advantage of our Early-Bird rates.

Click here for a PDF copy of the Conference Brochure

Click here for a PDF copy of the Conference Agenda Highlights

Indian Residential School Survivors
National Conference & Workshop

April 30, May 1&2, 2007
WINNIPEG Convention Centre

The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) is in the process of final approvals. This has paved the way for preparing survivors and communities to move forward. The next phase of the process is the "OPT-OUT Period" of 150 days, during which survivors will have the option of including or excluding themselves from the settlement. it is anticipated that implementation of payment will take place in late 2007, depending on the number of individuals who decide to receive the Settlement. This flow of money into our Aboriginal communities will have both positive and negative effects.

Positive Effects:

• Economic Development
• Individual and Community Investments
• Improved Quality of Life
• Will and Estates
• Elder Support

Negative Effects:

• Elder Abuse
• Family Violence
• Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Issues
• Fraud
• Conflict within communities

The Settlement Agreement Community Impacts Working Group (CIWG) has been created to coordinate and support efforts across Canada to minimize the negative effects and maximize the positive effects of the Settlement Agreement. Membership includes representatives from several Federal Government Departments, national Aboriginal organizations, and other stakeholders who are responsible for programs such as the IRS Reconciliation Health Support Programs.

Please join us for this three-day educational Workshop and Conference that will provide the tools to help effectively deal with the financial, social, personal, family and economic aspects related to the Settlement.

Click here for a copy of the conference poster and FAX REGISTRATION form (PDF copy of the faxed information)

Matawa First Nations tribal council press release ...

First Nations file to protect rights in Kenogami Forest

Thunder Bay, ON: The Matawa First Nations have just commenced legal proceedings in the form of a Judicial Review Application against Minister of Natural Resources, David Ramsey. The Director of Industry Relations at the MNR, Terrace Bay Pulp Inc. (owned by Buchanan Forest Products) and Neenah paper Company of Canada are also named respondents.

The legal proceeding seeks to set aside the MNR’s transfer of the Sustainable Forest License (SFL) in the Kenogami Forest, from Neenah to Terrace Bay/Buchanan on August 31, 2006, on the basis that Matawa First Nations were not consulted about the transfer and the terms of the SFL.

The legal case also seeks orders from the court requiring the Minister to fulfill the MNR’s obligations in term and Condition 34 of the Class Environmental Assessment Order, and to consult the Matawa First Nations about how this should be done. Term and Condition No. 34 required the MNR to undertake various measures to provide for more equal participation by Aboriginal peoples in the benefits provided through forest management planning, including more equal management and decision-making capacity, as well as employment, business, economic or financial benefits. “So far, little has been done to honour or implement these legal requirements,” says Chief Veronica Waboose.

Despite continued lobbying and requests from the nine communities of the Matawa First Nations to be included and consulted in any regional forestry planning developments affecting the Kenogami territory, the First Nations have been excluded. All of the Matawa First Nations have reserves either in or adjacent to the Kenogami Forest and therefore have treaty rights, including rights to harvesting, hunting, fishing and trapping in the territory covered by the Kenogami Forest. The non-cooperation and disregard for regional collaboration from both government and industry has left the Matawa First Nations with no other options to be heard.

The proceedings, which will come for a hearing before the Divisional Court of the Ontario.

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Notes to Editor:

Matawa First Nations includes nine (9) communities in Northern Ontario: AROLAND FIRST NATION, CONSTANCE LAKE FIRST NATION, EABAMETOONG FIRST NATION, GINOOGAMING FIRST NATION, LONG LAKE #58 FIRST NATION, MARTEN FALLS FIRST NATION, NESKANTAGA FIRST NATION, NIBINAMIK FIRST NATION, and WEBEQUIE FIRST NATION

Media Contact:

Kate Kempton, legal counsel
Olthuis Kleer Townshend
Tel: 416-981-9374
Cell: 416-571-6775
Email: kkempton@oktlaw.com

Stephanie Ash
Firedog Communications
Tel: (807) 767-4443; Fax: (807) 767-4479
Email: stephanie@firedogpr.com

Your school, your health centre AND your community can join others to become a host site for the upcoming Promising Practices in the North  2 day workshop being planned for March 22 and 23. Host this 2 day workshop in your community so parents, teachers, students, health professionals and community leaders can learn about the programs and services that are now available to support children with special needs. All you need is a meeting room with video conferencing facilities!

SIGN UP your community TODAY to be a part of this important event!

The Centres of Excellence are pleased to present: Promising Practices in the North 2007, an online regional conference to discuss special education. This workshop will take place ONLINE March 22nd and 23rd, 2007.

Over 20 presenters from around the region will make presentations regarding early intervention and behaviour issues to help parents, health workers and teachers with everyday challenges in the classroom.

The meeting area will provide a live stream of the workshops with online discussions. It is open to everyone (you do need to sign up for an account if you have not already done so) and is free of charge.

Join the online meeting area TODAY and share your ideas and experiences about the importance of addressing special needs in your community.

Visit www.meeting.knet.ca for more information including: agenda, live stream, online discussions, Video Conference registration, PowerPoint Presentations, links & resources.

To participate via Video Conference, please complete the Video Conference Form and fax to Terry Moreau (fx) 807.768.4817 or phone 766-8442    (e-mail: t.moreau@knet.ca)

On March 11, the Kenora NDP riding nominated Tani Cameron, from Ochiichagwe’babigo’ining First Nation near Kenora, as their candidate in the next federal election. She will be running against Roger Valley for the Liberals and Greg Rickford for the Conservatives.

From Wawatay News ... February 7

Tania Cameron seeking Kenora NDP nomination

An Ochiichagwe’babigo’ining First Nation woman has started the process of trying to represent the Kenora riding in the next federal election.

Tania Cameron, a councillor and band administrator in her home community, filed her nominaton papers for candidacy in the New Democratic Party Jan. 26

“I’ve always been interested in politics … and in following policies I’ve seen the NDP supports working families and Aboriginal issues,” Cameron, a mother of three, said. “I have reintroduced myself to the party’s policy and am confident that it speaks to all segments of our riding.”

The recent Aboriginal self-government program graduate of Red River College has thought long and hard about running, although the election has yet to be called.

“We’ve talked about it as a family,” Cameron said. “It was a big decision for the family but they’ve been supportive. This is something I’ve wanted to do.”

Cameron, 32, hopes to bring a fresh perspective to the party and believes that is what is needed for the NDP to win the riding. “I strongly believe I am representative of the diversity and opportunity this is reflective of the Kenora riding,” Cameron said. “I’m hoping the riding is ready for an Aboriginal candidate. I’ve heard from some people there may be (problems in a few areas). It’s something I’m hoping to overcome.” –JT

2007.02.07

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From Toronto Star - November 26, 2006

Turning the tide of despair

Suicide ... Now, role models like Tania Cameron are trying to find solutions to this curse of the reserve

...
In 2001, Tania Cameron, a 26-year-old from the Dalles reserve near Kenora who was program manager of KCA's Aboriginal Healing and Wellness, set out to do something about the glaring shortage of mental health and addiction services for the communities around Kenora. She successfully negotiated a deal with Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long Term Care to create the KCA mental health and addiction advisory. It enabled her to hire Dr. Ozzie Seunath, who now leads a team of six mental health and addictions workers for the 14 reserves around Kenora, which have a combined population of about 14,000. ...

Part of the solution, he says, is more opportunity for employment and better role models. Tania Cameron is just such a role model. Now 31, an elected councillor on her reserve and the busy mother of two, Cameron organized Kenora's first Suicide Prevention Day in September 2005. It was held on the Kenora waterfront, but didn't attract many non-Aboriginals. A lot of people came in from the reserves. "There was this large circle of tee lights, reflecting off the water." Cameron says. "It just breaks your heart to think of them as so many peoples' lives. Their lights were blown out, you know. I try to place my mind where these kids were. It was a place of no hope." ....

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For more information about Tania Cameron, visit her home page at http://www.taniacameron.com/

From the Brockville Recorder & Times

Helping the less fortunate 'right in our own backyard'

By Tracey Tong ttong@recorder.ca

While many of their counterparts are leaving Brockville for sun, sand and surf over the March Break, a small group of local students will be freezing in -40 temperatures in an isolated northern Ontario community.

Grenville Christian College teacher Fred Bowen is heading a 10-day mission to Kashechewan, a First Nation community located near James Bay that suffered a water quality crisis in late 2005.

The group - which consists of five students from Grenville Christian College, two Thousand Islands Secondary School students, seven staff and volunteers from GCC and a member of the Centennial Road Standard Church - left for the community of 3,000 Thursday. The purpose of the trip is to build much-needed storage facilities for the elementary school and help out in the classrooms.

It all started when Bowen made a visit to Kashechewan - a community with a high suicide rate and an unemployment rate of 87 per cent - during the water crisis. At the time, talks of relocating the community to other existing communities were underway.

Still thinking about the community upon his return, Bowen had his data management class do a study on the cost of relocation. From there, the project ballooned into the inspiration for the mission.

During the crisis, the local elementary school had moved temporarily into Francine J. Wesley Secondary School. There, Bowen learned that the elementary teachers had to carry their supplies back and forth on a daily basis.

Pulled together in a few short months, the trip is a collaboration between GCC and Centennial Road Standard Church.

Kashechewan is a 3,000-kilometre round trip that includes a bus ride to Cochrane, for which Bowen got his school bus driver's licence.

From there, it gets a little more complicated.

Because there are no roads between Cochrane and Moosonee, the bus will be loaded onto a northern train called The Little Bear. From Moosonee, Bowen and volunteer Bill Bushnell will continue the drive to Kashechewan.

Hours before leaving on Thursday, students and volunteers packed up the bus for departure. Group members brought their own bedding, food, water and other supplies required for the 10 days.

The volunteers raised funds to help come up with the $600 required for each person. They got lots of help from the community, Bowen added.

St. Francis Xavier School donated a sum of money to purchase sports equipment, as well 800 to 1,000 books. The Grolier book company also donated 500 storybooks.

Culligan supplied 180 litres of water. The Community of the Good Shepherd and Home Hardware were also among those who made donations.

"It was really a community effort," said Bowen. "It's amazing how it came together."

Bowen believes part of the reason the community was so supportive is because, unlike other mission trips like ones to Belarus and Africa that have happened in this area, this one reaches out to people in Canada.

"We wanted to do something right in our own backyard," said volunteer Michelle Jones-Bushnell.

Bowen hopes the trip will expose students to cultural differences between their own community and the First Nation lifestyle in northern Ontario.

"It's very difficult to understand the lifestyle unless you see and explore the conditions people are living under," he said. "We are so blessed here."

TISS student Breanna Heine believes the trip will be a great learning experience.

"Instead of just watching the news, we're going to be there experiencing how they live for 10 days," said Heine, a Grade 12 student.

When Grade 11 TISS student Kaylee Hodgeson learned about the trip, she took the opportunity to research Kashechewan.

"I didn't know anything about the town," she admitted, "but I did my own research."

For Nastia Pestava, this trip is a chance for her to pay it forward. Pestava, who grew up at the Chaussy Orphanage in Belarus, is at GCC on scholarship.

Bowen hopes this trip will mark the beginning of a relationship between the people of Kashechewan and Grenville Christian College.

It's all about helping others, said Pestava.

"I can't wait to see the sparkle in the children's eyes when they get their own books," she said. "I got the opportunity. Now I think someone else should have that opportunity. Everyone should have a chance. We're bringing them help and hope and love."

See the press release below this article ...

From Reuters News ...

Canada slammed for treatment of aboriginals - Fri Mar 9, 2007
 
GENEVA (Reuters) - Canada needs to improve social services for its aboriginal population, particularly native women who face persistent and marked inequalities, a United Nations panel said on Friday.

The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination found there was a "lack of substantial progress" in addressing discrimination against native communities within the officially multicultural country.

"The committee remains concerned at the extent of the dramatic inequality in living standards still experienced by aboriginal peoples," it said in a statement.

Stressing that native women make up "a disproportionate number of victims of violent death, rape and domestic violence", it recommended Ottawa improve services, including shelters and counselling, for victims of gender-based violence.

Canada's 1.3 million aboriginal residents make up about 4.4 percent of the population. Many live in abject poverty and their plight is a persistent embarrassment to what is one of the world's most advanced countries.

In Ottawa, the Conservative government blamed the previous Liberal administration, saying it had done little to help aboriginals when in power from 1993 to early 2006.

"For 13 years the Liberals paid lip service to aboriginals ... this (report reflects) an accumulation of years and years of blatant disregard for aboriginal issues," said Deirdra McCracken, a spokeswoman for Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice.

She said the Conservatives were committed to boosting the rights of aboriginal women and children as well as tackling the problem of contaminated water on native Indian reserves.

The U.N. committee periodically reviews all signatory states to the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

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The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Calls Upon Canada to Immediately Endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Press Release, March 8, 2007

In a ground breaking finding, the CERD Committee today called upon Canada to reverse its position at the General Assembly and support the United Nations Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. The United Nations Treaty Monitoring Body also voiced concerns that trans-national mining companies, registered in Canada negatively impact on the rights of Indigenous Peoples outside of Canada and urged Canada to “take measures” to ensure accountability of Canadian transnational mining companies with regard to Indigenous Peoples human rights in other countries.

The CERD Committee examined Canada’s compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) at its 70th session, in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 20th and 21st. Their findings were released today. Canada, like all countries that have ratified this legally-binding International Convention, is required to report on its compliance with the Conventions’ provisions.

In its Conclusions and Recommendations, embargoed for a day on account of objections citing “factual errors” by the Canadian government, the CERD Committee noted Canada’s past support “and positive contributions” to the Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, stating that it “regrets” the recent change in Canada’s position. The Committee called upon Canada to “support the immediate adoption of the Declaration at the United Nations General Assembly”.

NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) “Shadow reports” were submitted by the Indigenous Nations and organizations calling attention to the discriminatory position and actions of Canada in its opposition to the Declaration’s provisions upholding Free, Prior and Informed Consent, Rights to Land and Resources, Self-Determination and Treaty Rights. They pointed out that Canada was one of only two countries which voted against the Declaration when it was adopted last year by the UN Human Rights Council. Canada continues to actively lobby against its adoption at the UN General Assembly unless changes are made to seriously weaken its provisions. This would create "second class rights" for Indigenous Peoples in Canada and around the world.

“Canada has continued to insist on the inclusion of discriminatory language in the Declaration as a requirement for its approval”. This was one of several charges presented to the CERD by the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) and the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations (CT6FN), representing 18 First Nations in Alberta. IITC is an Indigenous Organization with Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council. They were among several organizations representing First Nations of Canada which filed “shadow” or parallel reports to the CERD, challenging the Canadian government’s report.

The reports submitted by these organizations as well as the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the British Columbia First Nations Leadership Council and the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) addressed a range of policies and practices violating Indigenous Peoples' human rights in and outside of Canada. Indigenous Peoples’ submissions were considered along with the Canadian Government’s report when CERD conducted its review of Canada on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 20th and 21st 2007.

In addition to Canada’s position on the UN Declaration, these submissions addressed a range of other urgent concerns for Indigenous Peoples. Of particular concern of many First Nations and their organizations is Canada’s “modification” and “non-assertion” policies, demanding that First Nations relinquish aboriginal rights to land and natural resources in the settlement of land claims. The Committee voiced concern that these rights are being settled primarily through litigation at a disproportionate cost to Indigenous Peoples. The Committee urged Canada, “to engage, in good faith, in negotiations based on recognition and reconciliation” of Indigenous rights.

Other concerns raised by Indigenous Peoples and addressed by the CERD Committee included institutional racism and discrimination within the criminal justice and court systems, Treaty violations, a range of inequities in social services and living conditions, gender discrimination and lack of protection against violence in particular towards Indigenous women, youth and children. On these issues the CERD Committee also called upon Canada to comply with its internationally binding human rights obligations under the CERD Convention.

The complete findings of the CERD Committee can be found at their official website, http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/cerds70.htm. For more information please contact the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, Edmonton Canada, Mr. Ron Lameman at (780) 944-0334; or the International Indian Treaty Council, Alberto Saldamando, at (415) 641-4482.

From Winnipeg Free Press ...

Study busts myths about aboriginals - New report opens door to new policy options

Sat Mar 10 2007 - By Paul Samyn 

OTTAWA -- The Harper government has a myth-busting report that challenges a number of assumptions about the plight of Canada's aboriginal people and opens the door to new policy options to address native poverty.

The study, obtained by the Free Press, says there is no evidence to support the view that natives are increasingly fleeing reserves to seek a better life in Canada's cities.

The report, commissioned by the Human Resources Department shortly after the Tories took power last year, also finds that in some cases the economic and educational gaps between natives and non-natives are not as great as widely believed.

With the country's aboriginal leaders pressing the Tories to spend billions of dollars more on First Nations, the document may help shed light on both the thinking driving the government's approach to natives and also what may transpire in the March 19 federal budget.

"Misconceptions of aboriginal data are having an impact on policy," says the report, released under the federal Access to Information Act.

"Correcting these misconceptions by careful review of empirical data is an important part of the policy process."

The report's author is Michael Mendelson, a senior scholar at the Caledon Institute of Social Policy in Ottawa and a former Manitoba deputy minister of social services.

Among the surprising facts he uncovered about the country's roughly one million aboriginals:

• the aboriginal participation rate in the workforce is higher than expected and close to the Canadian average;
• aboriginal high school graduates are just as likely to complete post-secondary education as other high school graduates;
• aboriginal people in both Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island are more likely to complete non-university post-secondary education than the non-native population.

In his report, which cost taxpayers $22,470, Mendelson makes clear the government may need to rethink approaches to improving both the education levels of aboriginals and their economic opportunities.

Some other findings from report inlcude:

• There is no mass migration from reserves into cities. Reserves and cities alike both have rapidly increasing aboriginal populations. Population shifts cannot be used as a rationale for moving resources from reserves to cities or vice versa.
• There is no province in which the aboriginal workforce will become half or more of the total workforce, although it will play an increasingly important role in several provinces, especially Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
• The largest urban concentration of aboriginal people is in Winnipeg at a little more than 50,000 -- not Toronto as sometimes claimed.
• When it comes to native education, there is a divide between East and West. In the West, aboriginals are doing even more poorly on several indicators of educational achievement. This is ironic, since demand for workers is so high in the West.

"All the socio-economic indicators we have reviewed, with only a few exceptions, are much worse than for the Canadian population as a whole," says the study, released to Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin.

"The exceptions stand out and are important as they may provide an anchor for successful policy initiative.

"Perhaps the most surprising finding is that the participation rate of aboriginal workers is almost as high as the total population's participation rate. This is particularly surprising in view of the extremely high unemployment rate facing aboriginal workers.

"This has a clear public policy implication: Do not worry so much about incentives to get aboriginal people looking for work. Worry about how to assist aboriginal people to obtain good, well-paying jobs or the skills and knowledge that lead to well-paying jobs."

Mendelson also suggests the government's education focus should be on having aboriginal youth complete high school -- rather than focusing on post-secondary education. Almost 50 per cent of working-age aboriginals did not finish high school.

"Do not worry so much about diverting aboriginal graduates from, for example, arts into sciences or from colleges to universities. Instead concentrate on getting more aboriginal students to complete a good-quality high school education and graduate.

"In some cases this may mean providing accessible, 'second chances' for older aboriginal students that are now ready to take on this challenge. But the main challenge is to get more aboriginal students graduating with a good high school education and a certificate in the normal time that most students complete their high school."

Mendelson also treads on a potentially controversial view by suggesting that part of the problem facing aboriginals is that a larger percentage of their incomes comes from government transfers, unlike non-natives who have access to other forms of money, such as income investments or bequests.

"It may mean that employment per se is not the only solution to persistent poverty and that the accumulation of other forms of wealth and access to income needs to be considered. In other words, wealth may play a more important role."

From the Anglican Journal ...

CANADA: Residential schools agreement approved - Former students have until August to opt out of accord

By Marites N. Sison - Sunday, March 11, 2007
 
[Anglican Journal]  All nine provincial and territorial courts approved on March 8 the revised Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA), a move that could mean that the agreement may be implemented by fall.

With the collective approval in place, the "opt-out period," which is a court requirement for class action, begins. This means that former students of native residential schools have until August 20 to declare if they want to opt out of the agreement. If 5,000 out of an estimated 80,000 residential schools students opt out of the agreement, it would be up to the federal government to decide whether to move ahead with the deal.

According to Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada, former students who require information about the opt-out process can call 1-866-879-4913.

The Council of General Synod (CoGS), the Anglican Church of Canada's governing body between meetings of General Synods, welcomed the announcement. "This is good news," Ellie Johnson, director of the national church's partnerships department, told CoGS in a briefing. Johnson represented the Anglican church in negotiations for the revised accord.

Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale called the approval a "historical" moment, reported the Whitehorse Star.

Once the agreement is implemented, government will begin accepting applications for the Common Experience Payment and the Individual Assessment Process. The former provides former students compensation of $10,000 for the first year of attendance in residential schools and $3,000 for each additional year. Negotiators estimate that the average stay of students in residential schools was five to six years, which means claimants will receive anywhere between $24,000 to $25,000 in Common Experience Payment. Acceptance of that payment releases the government and churches from any further action but allows students who have suffered sexual, physical and psychological abuse to follow the Individual Assessment Process to claim compensation.

The Anglican Church of Canada renegotiated its agreement last year with the federal government following an announcement in November 2005 of a new $1.9 billion compensation package that would be offered to tens of thousands of aboriginal Canadians who attended Indian residential schools. The Anglican church operated 26 of 80 boarding schools attended by aboriginals from the mid-19th century into the 1970s. In recent years, hundreds of natives sued the church and the federal government, which owned the schools, alleging physical and sexual abuse.

The revised accord will reduce the financial commitments of General Synod -- the church's national office -- and dioceses by almost 40 per cent, or a maximum of $15.7 million. The earlier agreement, signed in 2003, committed the church to a cap of $25 million in compensation.

-- Marites N. Sison is staff writer for the Anglican Journal.

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Press Release ...

Residential School Cases Take Historic Step

TORONTO, March 9 - A historic moment was reached yesterday when provincial and territorial judges involved in the settlement for residential school survivors approved court orders which will move the case forward.

Nine judges from across the country held a joint hearing in Calgary yesterday to hear submissions about the settlement. Eight of the judges approved the orders yesterday and the ninth approval is expected very shortly.

A class action brought by the former students of the Mohawk Institute Residential School (the "School"), a native residential school in Brantford, Ontario, and their families, was settled in November 2005 by way of a national Agreement in Principle between the Government of Canada, the Assembly of First Nations (the "AFN"), legal counsel for Indian Residential School survivors and various religious entities (the "Agreement").

Amongst other things, the Agreement provides for a compensatory Common Experience Payment, for loss of language and culture, to every former Mohawk student who attended a residential school in Canada alive as of October 5, 1996 (the "Payment"), consisting of a $10,000.00 lump sum and $3,000.00 extra for each school year or part thereof after their first year of attendance. At least $1.9 billion will be paid out under this part of the settlement.

Russell Raikes, the lawyer who commenced the class action on behalf of former Mohawk students, said, "This marks the end of an almost decade long battle to secure justice for survivors and their families."

As stated by Kirk Baert, co-counsel with Mr. Raikes, "This settlement means that survivors and their families will no longer have to struggle through complicated, lengthy and expensive court proceedings in order to obtain redress of this historical wrong."

Former Mohawk students commenced a claim in October 1998 against the Government of Canada, the Diocese of Huron and the New England Company. The students sought to recover damages for the harm inflicted on them as a result of them attending the School.

The School was located in Brantford, Ontario, near the Six Nations Reserve. The School was opened in 1828 as a residential school for First Nations' children. It was founded by the New England Company, a charitable organization, with the mission of teaching the Christian religion and the English language to the native peoples of North America.

The New England Company ran the School until 1922, when it leased the School to the Federal Government. Under the lease, Canada agreed to continue the School as an educational institution for native children and agreed to continue to train them in the teachings and doctrines of the Church of England. The School closed in 1969.

The Mohawk class action covers the years of 1922 to 1969. During that time, there were 150 to 180 students at the School each year, ranging in age from 4 to 18 and split roughly equally between boys and girls. All were native children, that is, Indians within the meaning of the Indian Act. In all, approximately 1,500 native children attended the Mohawk School during those years.

The plaintiffs claimed that the Mohawk School was run in a way that was designed to create an atmosphere of fear, intimidation and brutality. Physical discipline was frequent and excessive. Food, housing and clothing were inadequate. Staff members were unskilled and improperly supervised. Students were cut off from their families. They were forbidden to speak their native languages or to practice their native cultures.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice and Divisional Court of Ontario both refused to allow the case to proceed as a class action. In December 2004, the Ontario Court of Appeal, Ontario's highest court, decided that the courts below erred in refusing to allow the case to proceed, and ordered that it should be certified as a class action and permitted to proceed to trial. The court certified claims for breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and breach of aboriginal rights. The court found that dealing with all of the facts and issues raised in the case should be dealt with in one trial because it would result in a substantial saving of time and expense. The court also found that access to justice would be greatly enhanced by a class action. The evidence before the court was that many of the former students are aging, very poor, and in some cases, still extremely emotionally troubled by their experiences at the Mohawk School.

The Supreme Court of Canada denied the defendants' request for leave to appeal to the nation's highest court in May 2005. On May 30, 2005, the Honourable Frank Iacobucci, former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, was appointed lead negotiator on behalf of the Government of Canada.

As a result of negotiations between the Government of Canada, the AFN, legal counsel for the survivors and various religious entities, the Agreement was reached on November 20, 2005. In addition to providing for the lump sum Payment, the Agreement also establishes an Individual Assessment Process ("IAP") whereby survivors of residential schools may apply for additional compensation, over and above the lump sum Payment to compensate individuals for sexual and physical assaults perpetrated upon them during their time at a residential school. The IAP will improve the current Dispute Resolution System instituted by the Government of Canada in 2004 which has been the subject of much criticism. It is estimated that another $1 billion will be paid out under this part of the settlement.

A final settlement agreement was reached on May 8, 2006. The federal cabinet approved the deal on May 10, 2006. Nine courts heard motions in the fall of 2006 regarding approval of the settlement. All nine courts approved the settlement and released in December 2006 and January 2007.

The Agreement also dedicates $60 million to a Truth and Reconciliation Commission designed to complete a historical record of the Indian residential school legacy and promote awareness and public education of Canadians concerning the residential schools system and its lasting impact on survivors and their families. The parties sought approval of the Agreement from the provincial Superior Courts across Canada in the fall of 2006.

The plaintiffs are represented by the law firms of Cohen Highley LLP and Koskie Minsky LLP. Both firms are widely acknowledged as leading Canadian class action law firms.

For further information: Russell M. Raikes, Cohen Highley LLP, (519) 672-9330, email: rraikes@cohenhighley.com;. or Kirk M. Baert, Koskie Minsky LLP, (416) 595-2117, email: kbaert@kmlaw.ca.