Friends of the Lubicon
PO Box 444 Stn D,
Etobicoke ON M9A 4X4
Tel: (416) 763-7500
Email: fol (at) tao (dot) ca
www.lubicon.ca
March 5, 2005
Lubicon Lake Indian Nation supporters from far and wide have been writing to the Government of Canada noting that oil and gas development is being aggressively pursued in unceded Lubicon Traditional Territory despite the lack of any treaty or land rights settlement with the aboriginal owners. Lubicon supporters are asking that the federal government give its negotiators a mandate to negotiate a full and fair settlement of Lubicon land rights in good faith.
The Minister of Indian Affairs, Andy Scott, is now replying to Lubicon supporters in response to the hundreds of letters being sent regularly to the Minister as part of Outaouais Lubicon Solidarity’s "Wells, Pipelines and Broken Promises" campaign (www.lubiconsolidarity.ca). (The campaign ends March 12, 2005)
A letter sent to the Friends of the Lubicon by Minister Andy Scott is attached.
Minister Andy Scott says that:
The settlement of the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation Claim remains a priority for the Government of Canada; however, there is more involved in reaching a settlement than the desire for one. All parties must be prepared to compromise. Canada wants a settlement that is fair to all parties, including other First Nations and the Canadian taxpayers. I am pleased with the progress that has been achieved to date and hope that all parties to the negotiations will recognize its significance and build on it to achieve a final settlement."
Asking the Lubicon people to "compromise" when federal negotiators have been given no mandate to do likewise -- and are not even at the table -- is clearly no response to public demands for a settlement. Instead it is an upside-down, inside-out characterization of the state of Lubicon negotiations. As it stands, federal negotiators have made clear on numerous occasions that they have been given no authority to do anything different on the key outstanding issue of self-government and no authority to offer anything more for financial compensation. One can’t talk about "compromise" when Minister Andy Scott has not given his own negotiators any mandate to negotiate a mutually-acceptable resolution with the Lubicon people.
Lubicon supporters have therefore responded critically to the allegation that the Lubicon Nation is not willing to compromise as well as to the suggestion that a fair Lubicon settlement could possibly be unfair to Canadian taxpayers (whose governments continue to benefit from the billions of dollars of natural resources being torn out of Lubicon Traditional Territory).
Notably while expounding on the government’s desire to settle Lubicon land rights and their "hope" to "build" on the "progress that has been achieved to date" there is no commitment in Mr. Scott’s letter to taking the obvious next step of sending negotiators with a mandate to negotiate such a settlement. How a settlement might be reached when government negotiators are not mandated to negotiate one is anybody’s guess.
In replying to this form letter from Minister Andy Scott, Lubicon supporters should thank him for his written commitment to negotiating a Lubicon settlement. Minister Scott should also be told that Lubicon supporters are waiting to see if the federal government, as a party to negotiations, is "prepared to compromise" to reach a settlement and that Lubicon supporters will expect his commitment to compromise to be reflected in the mandate he gives to federal negotiators.
And, given that Minister Scott says that a Lubicon settlement is "a priority for the Government of Canada", Lubicon supporters should ask him exactly when federal negotiators will be returning to the table with a mandate to negotiate a full settlement of Lubicon land rights.
TEXT OF LETTER FROM INDIAN AFFAIRS MINISTER ANDY SCOTT
February 24, 2005
Dear Mr. ---
This is in response to your correspondence regarding the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation.
I wish to assure you that this government remains firmly committed to a just settlement of the land claim of the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation. Negotiations between the Government of Canada and the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation representatives have resulted in substantial progress over the past six years. I am pleased to say that by September 2002, agreement had been reached on membership, and all aspects of the detailed and very complex negotiations regarding the construction of a new community at Lubicon Lake to be built once a final settlement has been reached.
Achieving a final settlement is not possible, however, without the full participation and agreement of the Government of Alberta, as only the provincial government can provide the land sought by the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation for its proposed reserves. The Government of Alberta joined the main table negotiations in October 2002. Within a year of Alberta joining the negotiations, agreement was reached by all parties on the establishment of a 95-square mile reserve land base for the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation and most of the related issues such as third parties and environmental assessments. Further tripartite negotiations have resulted in a tentative agreement on the establishment of a permanent special fund under Lubicon control to sponsor future economic development opportunities for the Lubicon so that they can be largely economically self-sufficient in the future.
Outstanding issues including compensation and self-government have been the focus of discussions this past year while bilateral Lubicon/Alberta sessions on wildlife management issues off reserve began in the winter of 2003.
The settlement of the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation Claim remains a priority for the Government of Canada; however, there is more involved in reaching a settlement than the desire for one. All parties must be prepared to compromise. Canada wants a settlement that is fair to all parties, including other First Nations and the Canadian taxpayers. I am pleased with the progress that has been achieved to date and hope that all parties to the negotiations will recognize its significance and build on it to achieve a final settlement.
I thank you for your interest in this matter and trust that this information is of assistance to you.
Yours sincerely,
Original signed by
a signé l’original
The Honourable Andy Scott, PC, MP
fol-request at masses.tao.ca