Nisga’a referendum result
upheld despite difficulities

Tight timelines made preparing

A REPORT prepared for the provincial
government on last year’s Nisga’a

_“tteaty ratification referendum _ states
there were problems, but upholds the
final result.

Sixty-one per cent of Nisga’a vated ‘yes’
to the deal giving them land, money and
self government powers in the Nass Valley.

The treaty required a 50 per cent plys one
margin in order to be ratified,

But detractors, including Liberal op-—

position leader Gordon Campbell, ques-
tioned the result, saying not all eligible
Nisga’a were placed on the voters list.

Campbell and the others said the estimated
number of people eligible to vote based on age
and population statistics didn’t compare to the
actual numbers who did vote, thus diluting the
actual results.

Based on that, critics said the voting result
then fell below the 50 per cent plus one ratifica-
tion threshold.

As well, Nisga’a who enrolled to vote but did

_ Hot cast a ballot were considered to have voted

against the treaty.
Telkwa resident Tom Chamberlin, hired by
the province to be its representative on the com-

mittee set up to oversee the Nov. 1998.

referendum, acknowledged problems in assem-

bling a voters list within the 90-day window —

that was set out from initialing the treaty last
August to the voting period.

He focussed on two areas — finding and en- |
rolling eligible Nisg2’a and the voting process.

itself.

In short, Chamberlin said there wasn’t a suffi-
cient time period to find and enroll eligible
Nisga’a.

“The spatial distribution of voters was a
major concern,’” wrote Chamberlin in his
report.

‘“Many voters lived outside the seven voting
locations, and had to be reached by mail-in bal-
lots. Because of the push to enroll members, we
received new non-resident applicants up to the

last minute and about half did not return their.

BEN STEWART voted for the first time ever
in the Nisga’a treaty referendum last No-
vember. While overseers of that process
say there wera problems, they maintain the

result — 61 per cent approval of the treaty”

— should stand.

ballot, either because of time or confusion in ad-
dresses,”?

Chamberlin recommended that finding and
enrolling eligible voters start far earlier on fu-
ture treaty ratifications than was the case with
the Nisga’a one,

“The difficulty experienced by the
referendum commissioner’s staff in developing
complete or accurate mailing lists (for informa-
tion mail outs) was an early warning of the dif-
ficulty to be had in developing a voter’s list,’
he wrote.

Chamberlin did note that S00 Nisga’a turned
out to register at the palls,

A further wrinkle was the holding of a
Nisga’a Nation special assembly a month before
the November referendum to gain approval to
hold the ratification vote.

That traditional way of Nisga'a doing busi-

ness by way of special assembly caused some to ,

believe the decision to hold a referendum was
itself an approval of the treaty, said Chamberlin.
He also said the referendum committee struc-

an accurate voters list a nightmare — report

FI wrseasara.comtaarromeeeanc oot ceeengreemcctame age

ture needed to be defined better, adding that
rules and guidelines should be much clearer to
avoid confusion and delays.

Although the referendum committee was
designed to operate independently of the
Nisga’a Tribal Council, “‘this was very difficult
because of kinship tics, (and custom),’’ Cham-
berlin wrote.

At the same time, the commitice’s «budget,
which was never improved, came under direct
tribal council control, he added.

A first estimate of $600,000, then raised to
$876,550, Chamberlin reported,

“*Because of the poorly defined distinction be-
tween NTC activities and those of the com-
mittee, a complete account of the committee’s
expenses may be difficult to produce, but the to-
tal will undoubtedly exceed the initial
estimate,’’ he wrote.

Despite all of the above, Chamberlin said the,
referendum committee and the referendum com-.
missioner did well. . ;

On vote count itself, Chamberlin said ‘‘the
district voting officials (about 38 in all) proved
up to the task of handling media pressure, dissi-
dent politicking, a bikers’ party upstairs, a large
number of walk-ins and many individuals who
needed the assistance of the mobile poll which

‘visited hospitals ....."’ he wrote,

As for the results, ‘it is my opinion that the.
requirements for ratification of the final apree-
ment by the Nisga’a have been well met,”
Chamberlin noted,

kk kkk
SPEAKING ON the issue of finances, Nisga?a
Tribal Council official Ed Wright said the feder-
al and provincial governments said they would
cover the cost of the referendum,

But the cost rose to more than $200,000 over
what the two governments gave, leaving the
tribal council to come up with the reaminder, he
said.

Wright said travel costs connected to visiting
the communitics in the Nass Valley and two
Nisga’a gatherings in Terrace, Prince Rupert
and Vaucouver added much to the overall ex-

" pense,

Gosnell
relieved
feds will
not wait |

SCANDALS plaguing the
NDP government aren’t
going to be the undoing of
the Nisga’a treaty, predicts
Nisga’a Tribal Council pres-
ident Joe Gosnell.
The treaty debate has been
paused since Feb. 1 when
the provincial government
adjourned the legislature
amid opposition pressure
over the fast ferries debacle.
The delay was to be only a
few weeks and was
ostensibly to give newly ap-
pointed aboriginal affairs
minister Gordon Wilson
time to get up to speed on
the treaty. But it has steadily
dragged on and trouble for
the government has ai
deepened with revelations
over Premier Glen Clark’s
personal involvement with a
successful casino applicant.
‘Despite the crisis in Vic-
teria, we still remain quite
confident the treaty will be
ratified by the B.C. legisla-
ture,”’ Gosnell said Thurs-
day.
He. had been concerned

= ak

PREMIER GLEN CLARK follows Nisga’a elder Alvin McKay to Joe Gosnell's house in Aiyansh just prior to the
August ceremony marking the conclusion of the final agreement. A series of scandals since then has put Clark
on the defensive and passage of the treaty on the backburner, .

Debate clarified treaty logic, |
but Jack’s answer is still no

that if the federal debate
didn’t start until the provin-
cial debate ended it might
net be completed by the ex-
pected end of ithe par
liamentary session at the
end of June.

Now indications are Ot- :

tawa is getting ready to
table’ its treaty legislation
and won’t wait for B.C. to
finish, '

“T am encouraged by the
fact the federal government
will start its ratification pro-
cess this month,’” Gosnell
said, ‘The Nisga’a people
fully expect both govern-
ments to carry on and
eventually finalize the
agreement and as far ‘as
we're concerned the sooner
ihe better.”’

Skeena MP Mike. Scott.

said the Liberals in Cttawa

aren’t denying they’re set to -

introduce the treaty without
waiting for Victoria to finish
with it.

“Tt is an insult to British
Columbians to have Ottawa
planning on debating the
Nisga’a treaty in the House
of Commons before it has
been democratically ratified
in British Columbia,**: Scott
said. ;

THE NISGA'A TREATY debate in
the legislature has shed much light on
the negotiation process and has given
one opposition MLA more confidence
that the province at least tried to get
the best deal possible.

Jack Weisgerber, the former Socred
turned Reform turned independent
MLA who was also the aboriginal af-
fairs minister who first brought B.C.
to the Nisga’a treaty table, says he
will still reluctantly vote against the
treaty when the now-paused debate
wraps Up this spring.

“Nothing would give me more
pleasure having signed the original
framework agreement than to be able
to support it,’ Weisgerber said.

His main objection to the agreement
is that self-government is written into
the treaty and thereby constitutionally
entrenched, rather than delegated by
higher levels of government — as was
agreed to in treaty negoliations with
Sechelt natives carly this year,

“The premier did concede that the
province had at least gone into negotl-
ations early on supporting the
delegated Sechelt-style model of self-
government,”* Weisgerber said. ‘That
they had been persuaded by the other
parties in the course of negotiations
that the current model was a better
model.”

. “That doesn’t change my mind,”’ he -
added, ."I_still think it's the-wrong-

mode], But at least I have the comfort

coming out of this debate that at Icast
the government had gone in following
the tack I initially started, promoting
the Sechelt style of government.”

Weisperber said the debate has
helped enlighten people on how the
closed-door talks evolved.

“We've gotten a clearer understand-
ing of what’s gone on,”? Weisgerber
added, ‘It’s the first time the govern-

“It’s the first time the
government has at all
been prepared to say
they at least started from
a different position from
what emerged.”

ment has at all been prepared to say
they at Icast started from a different
position from what emerged.”
Weisgerber said that combined with
the delegated model emerging in the
Sechelt deal gives him “‘a faint elim-
mer of hope’ that Nisga’a-style sclf-
government may not necessarily be
the rule for future treaty scttlements.
Weisgerber also fundamentally dis-

agrees that the ratification process .

gives no allowance for a provincial or
regional referendum.

But he says he thinks the essential
land, resources and: cash components
of the deal are justified. ;

*T’ve come te the conclusion that
the people turning over the land and
the people providing the cash will al-
ways think ils too much and the bene-
ficiaries will think it too Little. And we
should accept that,’ Weisgerber said.

“In reality ['m not sure that any

other set of negotiations could have.

come up with a significantly belter
solution.’’
Weisgerber said he’s also concerned

that not resolving overlapping claims

from neigh-
bouring bands
will simply
add more cost
io the treaty
down the
road.

One ele-
ment of the
treaty says the
Nisga’a get
extta com-

nsation if
reighbours  Welsgerber
prove aboriginal rights within the
Nisga’a treaty area resulting in
transfer to them of Nisga’s territory
or resource rights.

“My cynical side says that’s not
a ‘Gee, what if clause, that’s a
‘ clause dealing with a certainty. It’s

a way for the partics to sweeten the
‘ pot after the public debate is com -
“plete,” he sald. “It’s open-ended

as faras] cansee.” °°”

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 17, 1999 - AS

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD :

The Mail Bag

A math lesson

Dear Sir:

In “Gov't math queried,” from Leona Klein (letter to
the editor, March 10) she atlempts to change the tradi-
tional method of calculating change in tax rates.

It is standard to calculate the ratio of change to the
base. For example, dropping. the: small ‘business tax
from 10 per cent to 8 per cent of taxable income ts a
change of two-tenths or 20 per cent. Or to put itanoth-
er way, 10 per cent of an income of: $100,000 *is
$10,000 and if the rate is reduced to & per cent then 8
per cent of $100,000 is $8,000. The reduction of taxes
from $10,000 to $8,000 is a reduction of 20 percent,

~ There is nothing sinister licre. It is the way we alt”

learned inath when the 3 Rs were the focus. It is still
the way we all calculate increases and decreases today,
Helmut Giesbrecht, MLA, Skeena

(received via email)

Fishing plan flawed

Dear Sir: ; ;

Is steelhead fishing a large part of why you live in the
noribwest? Are you unhappy with the level of crowd-
ing on the Bulkley River as well as some olliers? If so,
where were you when the Bulkley River Angling Use
Plan exercise was taking place? ee

Your “representative”? group of panelists have come~
up with'a unique solution to the crowding. problem by
recommending a 38 per cent incrcase of people to the

fishery. This includes an increase in both guided and

non-resident angler activity. The pancl has also sug-
gested excluding non-resident anglers from the Bulkley ~

during the weekends. ;

It's not hard to visualize the effect this myopic
maneuver would have with respect to angler densities:
on other local streams, which remain open. to ‘non-
tesidents during those same weekends. a

After years of pressure by local anglers, the provin-
ciat fisheries branch had announced the implementa-
lion of a new management system, A system designed
fo control non-resident angling effort on local streams’:
was scheduled for cither 1998 or 1999. en

Mysteriously, it’s becn scrapped, along with the
Guardian. program, which was initialed to protect the.
fishery, enforce reguiations and monitor angling effort.
The Guardian program was to be funded by an increase
in non-resident angling license fees. This is the fee in-
crease Which was vigorously and success(ully protested
by local business groups throughout the northwest.

Once again we find the quality of our local angling
lifestyle becoming increasingly compromised as: profit
margins and the almighty dollar manage to prevail
upon our local fisheries, ;

You can help give the province the courage to discard
this particularly flawed AUP process by voicing your
disapproval.

Don Intermela, Hazelton, B.C.

A day for the unborn, too

Dear Sir:

Sarah de Leeuw’s March 10 letter to the editor spoke
about having ‘‘A National Day of Appreciation for...
Abortion Providers.”’ ee

I, for one, would like io see a National Day of. Ap-
preciation for Unborm Children. If you think that abor-
tion providers are having a rough time with threats and
acts of violence, Sarah, just look at the plight of the un-
born child. ar

At least there are laws that seek to protect- abortion
providers, but for unborn children, there is no legal
protection, In fact, the law does not even recognize
them as persons. ey oo

And if you think that an unborn child is just a parcel
of fetal tissue, that we can choose io do with what we
like, then please consider the following, By only 24
days after conception, the new baby’s heart is already
beating, and at six weeks, brain waves can be recorded.
By 18 wecks of gestation, an unborn baby is complete-
ly formed, needing only nourishment, warmth ‘and :a
chance to grow. oa

Premature babics as young as 24 weeks (after con-
ception) and weighing as little as 520 grams have sur=
vived outside of their mother’s womb. -

Certainly, violence and shootings against those in the
abortion business are criminal acts that must come to
justice, Threats and violence are not the way to deal:
with our differences, and this sort of protest should
never be condoned. ;

But we should also have a hard, honest look at what
we are doing to unborn children in this country. What
has become of us? We are a democracy that legally al-
lows the ultimate act of violence against our younges
and most vulnerable,

Hilda Vande Velde, Terrace, B.C,

‘High seas gaming

Dear Sir:

Now that we've got the NDP looking to legislate in
more casinos and slot machines, we might as well
make it coast-wide go-for-broke with Vegas-style gam-
bling on these Pacificats. :

Since with these stale of the catamarans: we'll be
paying big buck fares and be stuck inside for their trips,
let's oplimize revenue from captive passengers.:

“Begin our deficit payback with a ferry reservation
bookings windfall lottery. Why not make their lounges
into gambling addicted adult-zone ‘casinos?’ We'd
please our profil hungry, debt laden to the hilt, gum-
beated higher-ups, too, . ,

Just imagine the wheel-house odds, stacked decks,
and loan sharks kept at bay by blackjack’s booty. Our
mountain lion hull logos could be dappled with ace of
spades spats. Sounds like a winning high roller hand to
me, re foe,
Gerry Bloomer, Terrace, 8,C.

, (received yia email)

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