MARK HUME
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
VANCOUVER — The British Columbia government has quietly opened high-level political discussions with native leaders in an attempt to head off a showdown with aboriginal groups that have threatened road blockades around the province.
Premier Gordon Campbell has sent one of his top ministers to handle the talks, which he hopes will avert native protests by reaching an agreement to introduce legislation recognizing aboriginal title and rights.
"I would like my government to be the first in this country to take such a historic step," Mr. Campbell said in a recent letter to native leaders.
In three days of meetings that began yesterday in
The new relationship, which was supposed to end years of bitter conflict between native organizations and the province, seemed to founder earlier this year when Mr. Campbell failed to table legislation recognizing aboriginal rights.
Last month, the First Nations Leadership Council warned him in a letter that if the new relationship isn't soon backed by legislation, native groups would start "a series of on the ground actions which will have immediate economic consequences, such as a provincewide series of road blocks in order to demonstrate our serious concerns."
On Nov. 21, Mr. Campbell met with Grand Chief Edward John of the First Nations Summit, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the
"At that meeting we had a frank exchange about proposed provincial legislation that would recognize Aboriginal rights and title," Mr. Campbell wrote in a follow-up letter to the chiefs. "We both agreed that there was little value in continued work on this legislation by our respective legal and technical teams and that, if we are to be successful, we need to shift into a high-level political discussion."
Mr. Campbell said that Michael de Jong, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, would lead a small provincial team involving Jessica McDonald and Lorne Brownsey, both deputy ministers. On the native side are chiefs John, Atleo and Phillip.
Mr. Campbell said lawyers from the Ministry of the Attorney-General, who normally would be party to any discussions that could rewrite B.C.'s laws, would be left out of the meetings, and he asked native leaders not to bring their legal advisers either.
"It is critical that our teams enter into these discussions with the view that compromise will be necessary," Mr. Campbell said.
"If we are successful, we will be taking a very important step beyond the status quo and one that will provide a foundation for continuing our work in establishing a new relationship."
Grand Chief Doug Kelly of the First Nations Summit said native leaders throughout B.C. have made it clear they want to move beyond talking about a new relationship, to implementing real change.
And unless aboriginal rights are set down in legislation, he said, native leaders won't believe the government is serious. "We've been talking about this for years - it's time for action," he said.
Mr. Kelly said native leaders want the right to share decision-making with the provincial government on land-use planning, management and in the granting of development tenures.
Natives also want a formula for sharing in resource revenues.
"This is incredibly important work," he said of the issues at stake.
"We want to be able to create self-sufficient communities. We want to join in the economy, and we want to pull ourselves out of poverty."