Canada’s Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development is committed to signing off on Tla’Amin (Sliammon) First Nation’s treaty.
John Duncan, Conservative MP for Vancouver Island North, told the Peak he expects to be able to deal with the agreement reached by Tla’Amin, provincial and federal negotiators “very quickly. I don’t think there’s an issue, other than it’s been awhile and I’m committed to carrying through with the initialling.”
Both Tla’Amin and BC have signed off on the agreement, which was reached in June 2010, but the federal government has not. Tla’Amin has not been able to start a ratification process which involves a community vote, has had to borrow more money and has had to layoff staff at Sliammon Treaty Society because of the delay.
In contrast, for three other treaties which have been ratified, Tsawwassen First Nation, Maa-nulth First Nations and most recently Yale First Nation, it took only two months for Ottawa to sign off on the negotiators’ agreement.
There is a process attached to signing off on the agreement, Duncan said. When asked if the process had changed, because signing off on the other treaties didn’t take as long, Duncan said, “I can’t answer that question. All I can say to you is that I’m committed to completing this. I know there are concerns and I’m committed to concluding the initialling.”
When asked when that might happen, Duncan said as soon as possible. “We’re looking at a budget on Tuesday, a potential election call, there are a lot of things in motion right now. It’s a little bit difficult for me to make a specific commitment, but I will say soon.”
When asked to explain the cabinet’s involvement in the process, Duncan said, “I’m not at liberty to talk about cabinet confidences or discussions.”
MP John Weston, who represents West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding, met with Tla’Amin and Powell River local government officials on Tuesday, March 15. He also talked about the process.
“The initialling hasn’t taken place because at the federal level there’s this internal federal review which takes into account all the issues we’ve discussed and more,” he said. “I’m not part of that internal federal review. It’s a cabinet process and my participation in that is from the outside.”
Throughout the meeting, Weston both claimed he had not slowed down the process and talked about constitutional issues he sees in the treaty. He said Tla’Amin law would prevail over Canadian law in 13 broad areas. Weston said he initiated a meeting with Tla’Amin representatives last January to advise them “former Supreme Court of Canada judges have pointed out that such terms are unconstitutional, unwise,
unfair and unnecessary.”
The week before, Tla’Amin Chief Clint Williams, Roy Francis, Tla’Amin’s chief negotiator, and City of Powell River Mayor Stewart Alsgard travelled to Ottawa where they met with Liberal Party Leader Michael Ignatieff, among others, seeking support. Weston said turning the treaty issue into a partisan issue was wrong.
Weston also claimed he had not yet read the entire draft treaty document, which Patrick Brabazon, Powell River Regional District Area A director, said was inexcusable. Brabazon also said he thought the delay showed bad faith on Canada’s part.
Francis noted timing was critical for Tla’Amin, which has been in the treaty process for more than 14 years and has borrowed more than $10 million. “Every delay hurts. We had to do layoffs, suspensions in my office. It’s cost me some of my best people. The hurt that creates for my community is immense and I don’t think anybody cares.”
