And now:LISN <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Subject: Editorial: Six Nations land claims
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 19:55:59 -0400
From: Lynne Moss-Sharman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
August 24, 1999
Brantford Expositor Editorial
JUST ANSWER THE QUESTIONS
Drag it out. Don't give an inch. Tie them up in red tape and legal
arguments. That's how the Government of Canada is settling land claims
by
Six Nations natives. Four years ago Six Nations filed a claim asking the
governments of Canada and Ontario to account
for land and money held in trust for the natives. Details of land
transactions, some of which date back nearly 200 years, are complex. But
the natives' demands are simple and reasonable. They want
to know what happened to large chunks of land they once owned along the
Grand River and what happened to the money they were to be paid.
The two governments know. Or they ought to. And they should be doing
their
best to accommodate the Six Nations' requests. Six Nations was granted
900,000 acres of land extending six miles on either side of the Grand
River
in 1784. Six Nations today has only 45,000 acres. Nineteenth-century
governments had an active role in selling, even expropriating, some of
the
natives' land and took responsibility for looking after the proceeds.
Getting to the bottom of everything won't be easy. In pioneer times,
many
sales were not written down or records were lost. Still, on a matter of
this importance you would think the provincial and
federal governments would be willing to help Six Nations find out as
much
as possible. This has not happened. Although the Government of Canada
opened talks with the natives four years ago, it dawdled so much that
Six
Nations asked a court this spring to order Canada to answer its
questions.
In July, Justice James Kent agreed with the natives and told the
government
to get on with answering the questions. Now Canada wants to appeal
Justice
Kent's order. A government spokesman cites two reasons for appeal: some
questions require legal interpretations and -- are you ready for it? --
the
law may change someday.
Justice Kent dealt with Canada's first objection saying: "I have
concluded
that Canada's objections to the questions are not valid and that the
questions listed should be answered." Canada's second objection, that
the
law might change, is ludicrous. Our courts and justice system operate
with
the laws we have now. The Ontario government's reaction to the Six
Nations'
claims has been almost as shameful as the federal government's. For four
years, Ontario didn't even respond to the claims, perhaps hoping they
would
go away. Just this spring Ontario agreed to co-operate in answering
questions.
Bureaucrats naturally seek to avoid making decisions on important issues
like land claims. They don't want to be the one to say yes or no. It's
much
easier to pass the buck, to find a way out or to cause
a delay. Maybe Six Nations will run out of money to pursue its claim.
Maybe
the law will change. Anything for the bureaucrats to escape the hot
seat.
Phil Monture, director of Six Nations land claims office, got it right
last
month when he said: "Canada's whole game is to delay this and, to us,
justice delayed is justice denied."
Six Nations is not asking for a blank cheque from the federal and
provincial governments. It wants information about its heritage, which
can
be a starting point for a land claims settlement.
The federal authorities must stop dragging their feet and looking for
excuses to avoid the difficult job of achieving justice for Six Nations.
If
Six Nations has been cheated of land or money, arrangements should be
made
to pay up. If nothing is owed, Six Nations has the right to know why.
But
it all begins with answers. Canada must get on with providing them.
"Let Us Consider The Human Brain As
A Very Complex Photographic Plate"
1957 G.H. Estabrooks
www.angelfire.com/mn/mcap/bc.html
FOR K A R E N #01182
who died fighting 4/23/99
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.aches-mc.org
807-622-5407
