Who’s not being wholesome with the truth? Somebody’s spinning a lot of fairy dust … Are we seeing efforts to twist and belittle an existing process? Or is this just another ploy to get public attention and public support? Is the system deliberately obstructing a solution? Or is the system devised to protect the interest of natives and of non-natives? You decide….
Contrary to the public statements we’ve all recently heard, there’s already a firm process in place to address claims. The suggestion that there are “”over 800 outstanding claims” is misleading in that “it suggests” that nothing is happening with these claims. That’s a gross misrepresentation of the true facts.
It does take a long time to settle a claim, but that’s part of a predetermined process. “Fast-tracking” a claim is another band-aid solution that in the end will be challenging to tax payers and less rewarding for the claimants. The rhetoric and the hype picked up by various elements makes for a good public outcry story, but that’s all it is: a story.
Misinforming the public at large borders on outright fabrications. When supposedly “stating facts” you either must tell all the facts, get the facts right, or refrain from being vocally noisy.
Reports from March 2007 indicate that from 1973 to 2006, there have been 1,354 claims and the resolution process of these is summarized as follows:
Claims are investigated - 633 claims (47% of total)
Claims are negotiated - 123 claims (9% of total)
Claims are concluded - 489 claims (36% of total)
Other Claims - 109 claims (8% of total)
How much money has this process cost? Just as a matter of interest, for the periods 1995-96 to 2005-06, the Indian Specific Claim Commission has racked up a tab totaling over $48 million dollars. Do the math here and you will quickly determine that these claims, valid or otherwise, have cost Canadians hundreds of millions of dollars if not more.
But then again, this is my interpretation of factual reports and other government data