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
June 9, 2006
Attached please find an excellent response to Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice from a European human rights group. Clearly they were not satisfied with assurances that the Minister is "reviewing the details" of the Lubicon situation.
The Hon. Chuck Strahl
Jim Prentice was the Minister of Indian Affairs when the above was written, the new minister is
Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs
Government of Canada
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H4
Canada
Fax: (613) 944-9376
Email: strahl.c@parl.gc.ca
KWIA
Supportgroup for indigenous peoples
Martina Roels
Gorinchemstraat 52
B-9100 St.Niklaas
Belgium
9th June 2006
The Hon Jim Prentice
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Affairs
Government of Canada
Ottawa, ON K1A OH4
Canada
Your Honourable,
In your letter dated 31st may, 2006, you write : "it’s my hope that all parties to the negotiations will recognize the significance of this progress and return to the negotiation table to build on it, with the goal of achieving a final settlement".
With this mail, KWIA, supportgroup for indigenous peoples, refers to the fact that there have been no Lubicon land negotiations since November of 2003 when federal negotiators took the position that they had no mandate to negotiate long-outstanding Lubicon settlement issues including self-government and financial compensation.
According to the findings of the UN Human Rights Committee in 2005, failing in negotiations makes your government accountable for human rights violations against the Lubicon Cree.
Therefore, KWIA asks that the Harper government appoints a negotiator with a full mandate to negotiate outstanding issues of self-government and financial compensation in good faith.
Sincerely,
Martina Roels
For KWIA
fol-request at masses.tao.ca