January 10, 2006
The following is a self-explanatory article on how the government of Canada and a number of candidates in the current election are responding to the Lubicon issue. Following the article are two letters to the editor of the Peace River Record Gazette which, combined with the original article, provide a good summary of where things stand during the current election campaign.
As the final letter from the Munich support group points out, "After a decade and a half it is clear that the problem is not communication problems but lack of political will on the Canadian government’s part to achieve settlement of Lubicon land rights, blatant disrespect for the human and aboriginal rights of the Lubicon people, and blatant disrespect for International Human Rights agreements signed by the government of Canada."
Peace River Record Gazette
Tuesday December 27, 2005
By Kristy Lesh
R-G Editor
Canada continues to violate the human rights of the Lubicon Cree according to an Amnesty International year-end report which urges the government to settle the longstanding claim.
The human rights group is calling on federal politicians to make the implementation of United Nations Human Rights recommendations a priority in 2006 and candidates for the Peace River riding are weighing in on what should be done.
The UN Human Rights committee called on Canada 15 years ago to "make every effort to resume negotiations with the Lubicon" and to "consult with the band before granting licenses for economic exploitation of the disputed land." They again ruled on this issue this year.
Lubicon adviser Kevin Thomas took a swipe at the Liberal government for refusing to implement the recommendation.
"If any other government snubbed the UN human rights committee the way Canada does, the prime minister would be first in line to condemn them. It’s called hypocrisy. If you want to stand for human rights abroad, you’ve got to respect them at home," he said.
All the federal election candidates that weighed in on the issue agreed some settlement should be made sooner rather than later.
"It’s something the the government should work to resolve and finalize," said independent candidate Bill Given.
He wants to see something done before Canada’s reputation is damaged further.
"We have to be taking care of issues we have at home before looking abroad."
Green Party candidate Patrick Head said Canada has a history of broken promises when it comes to land claims and he thinks it’s time they are settled.
"Personally I do support native land claims. It was all theirs to begin with, plain and simple," he said.
"There’s no reason why people shouldn’t be able to benefit from resources on their own land."
He said it’s about time the federal government starts living up to its promises.
"The art of compromise is what’s required here," he said. "The Crown doesn’t seem to want to give up the land. They have a history of broken treaties -- things are promised until they change their minds."
NDP candidate Susan Thompson said she and NDP MLA Dave Eggen met with Lubicon Cree chief Bernard Ominayak earlier this year to discuss the longstanding claim.
"I support Amnesty International on this one. If elected I would make it my business to ensure a settlement is made."
She said the poverty the Lubicon people struggle with is heart-wrenching and they deserve to be stakeholders in the oil development ongoing throughout their traditional territory.
Tanya Kappo, Liberal candidate for the riding said she believes the problems lie largely in communication and feels the politicians should be dealing directly with the Lubicon people instead of leaving it to senior bureaucrats.
"If the government took the approach to deal directly with the Lubicon ... I believe it could get resolved a whole lot quicker."
Despite the Liberals not being able to settle the agreement since coming into power, Kappo feels the Lubicon shouldn’t lose faith in the Liberals which is now seeing a change in dynamics with a new leader.
Conservative candidate Chris Warkentin questions why it has taken the Liberals so long to act on the issue.
"It seems very curious as to why (Indian Affairs Minister Andy Scott) hasn’t made this file a priority," he said.
"The Conservatives have a strong desire to see the land claims settled."
Glenn Luff, a spokesman for Indian Affairs and Northern Development said they have made every effort to return to the negotiating table with the Lubicon. He said the minister invited the Lubicon back to the table in June, but they rejected the invitation because of the federal government’s insistence that the inherent right to self-government has to be negotiated.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR FROM LUBICON COUNCILOR DWIGHT GLADUE:
December 30, 2005
Editor
Peace River Record-Gazette
Peace River, AB T8S 1S6
Fax: 780-624-8600
Re: December 27, 2005 Article entitled "Amnesty Report Urges Lubicon Resolution, Candidates Weigh in on Longstanding Issue
Indian Affairs spokesman Glenn Luff is quoted in the December 27th edition of the Record-Gazette as saying that Lubicon land negotiations broke down "because of the federal government’s insistence that the inherent right of self-government has to be negotiated". Mr. Luff is quoted further as saying that "the Minister invited the Lubicon back to the table in June but they refused the invitation".
As is so often the case with things said by representatives of the federal government, Mr. Luff’s statements are not even close to true. Lubicon land negotiations broke down in November of 2003 because federal negotiators took the position that they had no mandate to negotiate outstanding settlement issues including self-government. We told federal negotiators to go get a mandate to negotiate outstanding Lubicon settlement issues.
In December of 2003 we obtained a copy of secret federal Justice Department "Guidelines for Federal Self-Government Negotiators" on how to negotiate self-government agreements that are not binding on the federal government. It was after we pressed federal negotiators on language that would make self-government settlement provisions binding on the federal government that federal negotiators told us that they had no mandate to negotiate self-government as part of a Lubicon settlement agreement.
In June of 2005, 19 months after we asked that federal negotiators be given a mandate which would allow them to negotiate all Lubicon settlement issues including self-government, the Minister finally responded to our request in a letter telling us that we have the "option" of either "resuming negotiations under the current mandate" -- which does not include negotiation of self-government -- or we can wait an indeterminate period of time while the government explores the "possibility" that on-going talks with the AFN "may result in recommendations to the (government’s) Inherent Rights Policy that could possibly address the concerns (the Lubicon people) have expressed regarding self-government".
We responded to the Minister’s June 23rd letter on July 3rd reiterating our request that the Martin government meet the elemental requirement of sincere negotiation of Lubicon land rights by appointing a negotiator with a mandate to negotiate outstanding settlement issues in good faith. That was six months ago and we have still heard nothing back from the Minister.
Copies of Lubicon self-government proposals, secret Justice Department Guidelines for Federal Self-Government Negotiators, the Minister’s June 23rd letter and Chief Ominayak’s July 3rd response are attached.
Sincerely,
ORIGINAL SIGNED BY
Dwight Gladue
Councilor
Lubicon Lake Indian Nation
cc: United Nations Human Rights Committee
Amnesty International
Assembly of First Nations
Independent Party Candidate Bill Given
Green Party Candidate Patrick Head
Green Party Provincial Organizer Mark MacGillivray
NDP Candidate Susan Thompson
Liberal Party Candidate Tanya Kappo
Conservative Party Candidate Chris Warkentin
LETTER TO THE EDITOR FROM AKTIONSGRUPPE INDIANER & MENSCHENRECHTE, MUNICH:
Aktionsgruppe Indianer & Menschenrechte e.V.
gemeinnütziger Verein zur Unterstützung nordamerikanischer Indianer
Munich, January 6, 2006
Record-Gazette
Editors
Attention: Ms. Lesh
P.O. Box 6870
Peace River, AB T8S, 1S6
Canada
Dear Editors,
We read with interest your recent article about the positions taken by political contenders in the Peace River Riding regarding the long-standing Lubicon land rights struggle. While we have always recognized that a negotiated settlement of Lubicon land rights will take time, as a human rights organization we are appalled by developments since the breakdown of negotiations in November 2003. The use of Canadian Justice Department Guidelines instructing federal self-government negotiators on how to negotiate a self-government agreement with the Lubicons that is not legally binding on the Canadian government shows us that the Canadian government is not acting in good faith.
Now that the Lubicon land rights struggle is an issue before the United Nation Human Rights Committee again the Canadian government returns to manipulating the truth in declaring publicly that the Lubicon are refusing to return to the table and negotiate the "the inherent right to self-government". This very same position was also presented to the incredulous members of the UN Human Rights Committee and to incredulous Europeans witnessing the Human Rights Committee Session in Geneva last October. In fact correspondence between the Indian Affairs Minister and Lubicon Chief Ominayak makes clear that it is the Canadian government and not the Lubicons that is refusing to negotiate Lubicon self-government as part of a settlement of Lubicon land rights, and that what the Canadian government is insisting upon is for the Lubicons to cede their rights to valuable traditional Lubicon lands before the Canadian government will be prepared to talk to the Lubicons about Lubicon self-government. This is tantamount to the Lubicons being asked to give up their valuable land rights before agreeing on terms of settlement or even receiving any assurances that there will ever be agreement on terms. Under these circumstances nobody in Europe would sell even a used car to the Canadian government.
The Liberal candidate quoted in your article suggested that the failure at the negotiation table is a result of communication problems. As long ago as 1990 the UN Human Rights Committee found Canada in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights over abuse of Lubicon human and aboriginal land rights. After a decade and a half it is clear that the problem is not communication problems but lack of political will on the Canadian government’s part to achieve settlement of Lubicon land rights, blatant disrespect for the human and aboriginal rights of the Lubicon people, and blatant disrespect for International Human Rights agreements signed by the government of Canada.
The Lubicon Cree are supported by a large network of Human Rights organizations across Europe where Canada uses a variety of forums to portray herself as the better half of North America. Unfortunately the situation of the Lubicon Cree contradicts Canada’s official international self-portrayal. That’s what was made clear by the UN decision and by the Canadian reaction to the UN decision.
Yours sincerely
(Original signed by)
Dionys Zink
(AGIM, Member of the Board)
cc
Lubicon Lake Indian Nation, Little Buffalo
Friends of the Lubicon, Toronto
AKIN, Austria
KWIA, Belgium
IWGIA, Denmark
Fredsposten, Finland
Nitassinan C.S.I.A. France
AK Indians Today, Germany
INFOE, Germany
Menschenrechte 3000, Germany
Pro Regenwald, Germany
Society for Threatened Peoples, Germany
Society for Threatened Peoples, Italy
SvIF, Sweden
INCOMINDIOS, Switzerland
Survival International, U.K
fol-request at masses.tao.ca