| 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 |
December 10, 2005
On November 28, 2005, Lubicon Chief Bernard Ominayak sent the letter below to Prime Minister Paul Martin.
The letter speaks for itself. It is clearly possible, given enough political embarrassment on the part of the government of the day, to conclude agreements with Aboriginal people on critical matters within days. Why a Lubicon settlement has taken so many years, then, is a question we need to be asking Canadian politicians when they arrive at our doorsteps during this election season.
To that end, a flyer to hand to political candidates when they come to your door is here.
Simply print out a copy for each candidate in your riding and sign your name and address at the bottom of the sheet. When a political candidate or their representative knocks on your door, tell them you want to see the Lubicon issue resolved and hand them this flyer.
Please also consider copying the attached flyer and giving copies to your friends and neighbours so that candidates across Canada will hear from as many Lubicon supporters as possible during this election.
November 28, 2005
The Right Honourable Paul Martin
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2
Fax:?613-941-6900
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
The Lubicon people are interested to see, hear and read about your welcome reaction to the terrible situation at Kashechewan. However we have a very hard time understanding your government’s attitude towards Lubicon land negotiations. Is it possible, Mr. Prime Minister, that you still don’t know what the Lubicon people face despite our previous efforts to communicate directly with you about our situation?
We read that a 1995 federal water study found that about 25% of water systems on Indian reserves posed potential risks to the people who drink the water, and that a 2001 federal study found that three quarters of reserve water systems tested posed a safety risk to the people who drink the water. Are you aware, Mr. Prime Minister, that the Lubicon people have been waiting over 66 years for promised reserve lands to be set aside and that we have no have water or sewer system at all?
We are pleased to read that you say it is unacceptable for Canadians not to have safe drinking water and that you will do whatever is necessary to improve water quality in aboriginal communities across Canada. Are you aware, Mr. Prime Minister, that all of the traditional sources of Lubicon drinking water have been contaminated by resource exploitation activity and not drinkable for over 15 years?
We read that the Department of Indian Affairs was only buying bottled water for the oldest and youngest members of the Kashechewan community until dangerous levels of E.Coli bacteria were found in the water. Are you aware, Mr. Prime Minister, that our people -- many of whom are on welfare and don’t have vehicles -- have to go 100 km one way to buy their own bottled drinking water?
We read that the people from Kashechewan had to be temporarily evacuated because skin ailments and other medical problems were reaching epidemic proportions. Are you aware, Mr. Prime Minister, that our people have been facing serious medical problems of near epidemic proportions since the mid-1980s including widespread asthma and skin ailments among our children so severe that they cause permanent scarring; a tuberculosis epidemic affecting a third of our people; frequent respiratory and stomach problems among all our people; cancers of all kinds and reproduction problems which resulted in 19 still born Lubicon babies out of 21 pregnancies in one 18 month period?
We read that your government flew in a ten-tonne reverse osmosis water purification plant, capable of purifying 50,000 litres of water a day from almost any source, in response to the problem of contaminated water at Kashechewan. Are you aware, Mr. Prime Minister, that 50,000 litres of water a day would more than meet the potable water requirements of the 500 member Lubicon population?
We watched how it only took only eight days for your government to agree to undertake a temporary evacuation of the Kashechewan community, reportedly costing $300 million, and to commit to build a whole new community for the Kashechewan people, reportedly costing some $600 million and including 50 new houses a year; significantly increased community health and welfare services; a new school; and a new health center complete with a tripled number of nurses, a full array of immunizations and new x-ray equipment. Are you aware, Mr. Prime Minister, that the Lubicon people had no health services at all until the tuberculosis epidemic in 1987; that our health services have never consisted of more than a public health trailer and one nurse; that the one nurse we did have has been gone since last March when he was given the option by your government of working part time in our community or full time some place else; that we have been talking to Indian Affairs officials without result for over two years about the possibility of providing water and sewer for ten of our Elders who find it particularly difficult to obtain bottled water and get to an outhouse unassisted in the middle of the winter; and that the last unsuccessful round of Lubicon land negotiations went on for five years and that there have been no negotiations at all since the end of 2003?
Are you aware, Mr. Prime Minister, that Lubicon land rights could be settled, including financial compensation, for the reported cost of temporarily evacuating the Kashechewan people, and that the Lubicon people could then build a whole new Lubicon community on a Lubicon reserve complete with water, sewer, residential housing and a full compliment of community institutions and facilities including a new school and new community health center?
We read one of the problems at Kashechewan was that the people who operated the ill-conceived Kashechewan water treatment facility for a community located on a flood plain down stream from the Kachechewan sewage lagoon were not properly trained. Are you aware, Mr. Prime Minister that Lubicon settlement proposals include a professionally designed water treatment plant and sewage disposal system complete with associated operator training program?
We read the concerns of some people that building a new $600 million Kachechewan community on higher ground but still located in an economically depressed area won’t solve the many social and other problems that flow from 87% unemployment. Are you aware, Mr. Prime Minister, that the Lubicon people live right in the middle of one of the most resource-rich areas in the country, currently in the midst of a major, long term economic boom, and that at one point federal officials actually questioned whether our economic development plans might actually generate more jobs than the Lubicon people would be able to fill?
As I indicated to you in my as yet unanswered letter of July 27, 2005, there is nothing on the Lubicon negotiating table, including self-government and financial compensation, that cannot be settled in short order if only a federal negotiator returns to the table with a mandate to negotiate outstanding settlement issues in good faith. The Lubicon position on self-government and financial compensation is well known and responsible representatives of Canadian government have characterized both as technically, financially and politically feasible. However, as increasingly frustrated representatives of concerned resource companies regularly point out, a negotiated settlement cannot be achieved if there are no negotiations.
The Lubicon people ask that you make a commitment to return to the negotiating table and to settle Lubicon land rights within 6 months of the re-election of your government.
We ask that you cancel the 1996 Justice Department Guidelines to federal self-government negotiators on how to negotiate self-government in bad faith and give your negotiators instructions to negotiate the constitutionally recognized inherent right of Aboriginal people to be self-governing in good faith.
And we ask that the Lubicon people be provided with the financial resources necessary for us to do the work necessary to participate effectively in Lubicon settlement negotiations.
Sincerely,
Bernard Ominayak
Chief
Lubicon Lake Indian Nation
fol-request at masses.tao.ca