First Nations lost land and money over the years through the federal government's mismanagement of their reserve lands and trust funds.
About 30 years ago they began to actively document what had occurred in the form of misadministration, fraud and sometimes outright theft of First Nations' assets. The Indian affairs department therefore was forced to come up with a claims policy in an attempt to save First Nations and
More than 400 First Nations (status Indian bands) have submitted roughly 1,300 specific claims to the government of
In our recent report on the Specific Claims Policy and process, Negotiation or Confrontation: It's
Some Canadians are understandably fed up with this issue, yet the public is generally unaware of what is involved. They question why any of these claims needs to be resolved at all. They may wonder why First Nations cannot just move on without dwelling on what happened in the past.
But those who recognize that the government of
Every time an
So, what is right? Simply put, specific claims are legal obligations and contingent liabilities that cannot be deferred and ignored by the government of
Where an obligation exists and there is no consideration or compensation, one should expect trouble. It is time to pay up.
Recently, letters were written to various newspapers around the country contrasting the timely compensation for Maher Arar with the multi-decade wait for restitution that First Nations experience. Maltreatment and dispossession have impoverished generations of First Nations people for no legitimate reason. This is a blot on
The chronic under funding of the specific claims process demonstrates the failure of successive federal governments to take the matter seriously. It now sets the stage for violent confrontations in the future. Some First Nations youth will not tolerate the injustice the way most of their parents have.
Adequate funds are needed for specific claims negotiations. For settlement payments alone, the committee feels no less than $250 million per year should be set aside.
We find it is no longer acceptable to have the government department against whom the claims are being made be the one to decide on their validity and to make reparations to the claimant First Nations. That conflict of interest has to be eliminated.
Building a truly independent body dedicated to resolving these kinds of claims is the only way to dispose of the contradictions in the present Specific Claims Policy. The committee therefore recommends the establishment of an independent body within two years that has the capacity to resolve the claims it receives in five years or less.
The committee also suggests making all reforms consistent with the principles of fairness (full disclosure and access), inclusion (involvement of claimants and stakeholders), open and honest dialogue, the recognition of regional differences and the uniqueness of individual claims.
Under the Constitution, the Indian Act and certain treaties, the federal government assumed responsibility for First Nations' assets on the theory that they would be properly protected.
Gerry St. Germain is chair of the aboriginal peoples committee in the Senate of Canada.