Trick or treaty?

B.C.’s land claim policy has gone off the rails

By MEL SMITH

HE NATIVE LAND

claim process in

B.C. has gone terrib-

ly wrong. The courts
have decided that aboriginal
entitlements’ are modest in
scope. Yet the government has
decided to give away the store.

If the present course is fol-
lowed, native claim settlements
will change the complexion of
B.C, forever. It is by ‘far the
most. important issue facing us
today. 7
An Agreement in Principle

was recently signed, between
the federal. and provincial
governments and the Nisga’a
Tribal Council, which will con-
vey to 4,800 Nisga’a. (only
1,800 or whom live in Nisga’a
lerritory) a cornucopia of bene-
‘fits that include the outright
ownership of land, resources
and subsurface rights over an
area 17 times ‘the size of the
City of Vancouver, $190 mil-
lion in cash; commercial fishing
rights; an ethnic-based povern-
ment. with powers supplanting
-in’ some’ cases federal and
provincial laws; and extensive
control over wildlife, recrea-
tional activitics and resource
management in a vast area of
the Nass Valley beyond Nisga’a
lands.
“If this were only an isolated
dea! taking place in a remote
arca of the province, British
Columbians might well be for-
given for the lack of apparent
- interest.
The fact is that the Nisga’a
deal is of crucial importance be-

f 5 HISTORIC EVENT: Nisga'a Tribal Council president Joe Gosnell signs the Nisga’a agreementin-
or some 50 or more principle during March, 1996 ceremony, bringing B.C. into the age of modern-day treaty-making.

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 3, 1996 - AS

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

cause. it is to be the “‘prece-

dent’’

treaties thal are yet to be negoti-

ated. in future.

At the end of the treaty-
making exercise, British Colum-
bians will wake up to discover
" that their _ governments have
economic, social and political
fabric of the province.

On top of this, the beleaguered
Canadian laxpayer will continue
to finance the 100-plus special
programs for native people in
Canada, which annually cost $7
billion.

Treaties will be
*‘constitutionalized’’ so that
these rights will be unalterable

To date, Brilish Columbians
have had no say on this funda-
mental change in direction
which our. -Bovernments, arg. em-
barked aponyen. tee Bestvate

Most of us are: “totally
oblivious to what is being de-
cided, Public information mect-
ings on the subject have given
little opportunity for average
British Columbians to influence
or shape outcomes,

Carefully orchestrated and
overladen with bureaucrats,
such meetings have left con-
cerned citizens that have at-

tended them bewildered and
uninformed.

The Agreement in Principle is
not legally binding and there is
‘at least ‘a year of further work. to,
“be, dane, to. translateyiit » into a
trealy. It is clear that the New
Democrats have no intention of
making substantial changes to
the deal. Originally they fired
the lawyers who ‘‘won’’ the
Supreme Court case for B.C.
and replaced them with others
sympathetic to native claims,

To their confusion, the new
lawyers ‘‘won’’ again at the

government then decided to ig-
nore the Courts and open the
vaults,

The Liberals and Reformers
fundamentally disagree. - The
’ Liberdls are committed to .hold-
ing public hearings and would
then put the matter toa free vote
in the legislature. The
Reformers would have a pro-
vince wide referendum.

Mel Smith is a former deputy
minister handling constitutional
affairs, and is author of the
book ‘‘Qur Home or Native
Land?’ on the topic of Cana-

It’s time to move forward

By JOE GOSNELL
ALK ABOUT desperate
revisionism. Opponents and
supporters of our recent Agrec-
ment in Principle to settle the

Nisga’a Land Question are still-arguing .

aboul the meaning of the Calder.case that
was decided in the Supreme Court of Cana-
da 23 years ago.

“In that historic case, the Nisga'a sought recog-
nition that we retained title to aur ancestral
lands. Six of the seven judges found we had
aboriginal title before colonization and three of
them. believed that title had never been ex-
tinguished.

As often happens when the Supreme Court of
Canada issues a split judgment on an important
issuc, the federal government was prompted to
. step in to deal with an question thal was clearly

far. from resolved: In-1973, Jean Chreticn, the

minister of Indian Affairs at that time, announc-
ed the government would begin negotiations
with the Nisga’a,

Now that an Agreement in Principle bas been
reached, which calls for communal ownership
by the Nisga’a of 2,000 square kilometres of
land in the Nass River valley of northwestern

. British Columbia, it is under attack by those
who oppose any accommodation of aboriginal
“rights,

Mel Smith, former constitutional advisor to
Social. Credit governments, says there is no
legal support for Nisga’a self-government, and
that il will lead to.a ‘‘jurisdictional- mish-
mash...too horrible to contemplate’? when other
B.C, First Nations also reach treaty agreements.

Reform Party MP Keith Martin casually de-
scribes the — agreement. in. principle as
“apartheid” and.says it will isolate aboriginal
people from thainstream society.

‘Let ine tell: you, we have been isolated a long
lime.

“I have known the time when it was illegal for
aboriginal people to-speak among each other
about the very idea of land clalms; when our re-
ligious “aud ~ social traditions were outlawed;
when ‘our ‘children were seized to be raised
away from. the “uncivilized”? influence of their
loving © parents; when “Indian. people, like

Court of Appeal.

prisoners and the mentally ill, could not vote. It
was not so long ago, Even now nalive people
cannot raise capital from reserve lands to foster
their own economic development. It is beld in
trust for us, like irresponsible children.

Now we have an agreement reached with the
full participation of the native people who will
be affected, where we look forward at last to a
measure of control over our future, where there
is recognition of our history in this small comer
of the globe, of our right to be here, our rightful
inheritance,

! have known the time when it
was illegal for aboriginal people
to speak among each other about
the very idea of land claims;
when our religious and social tra-
ditions were outlawed; when our
children were seized to be raised
away from the “uncivilized” in-
fluence of their loving parents;
when Indian people, __ like
prisoners and the mentally itl,
could not vote.

Why are we suddenly hearing words like
“apartheid,” and of a form of governance ‘“‘too
horrible to coutemplate,’? now, then? Do they
think the past was not horrible, or did they just
not find occasion to contemplate it?

Pardon me, It has been a long journey. And ]
am tired, Tired of condescension and arrogance,
Tired of people saying they know what is best
for us.

Let’s get some things straight:

M@) The Nisga’a have since time immemorial
governed themselves through the ancient code
of laws and traditions known as the Ayunkhl
Nisga'a. What's more, we already gover own
affairs in the areas of health, education and
child welfare,

WM The Nisga’a agreement in principle does
nol establish an autonomous nation-state within
Canada, What we have agreed to in principle is

Harcourt’s da’s aboriginal policy.

the power to manage and govern our own com-
munity and the lands the Nisga’a will own in
common, Who clse should govern it but those
who own it? On Nisga’a Lands, the rights of
non-Nisga’a are fully protected. The Canadian
Constitution, the Charter of Rights and Free-
dons, and the Criminal Code of Canada apply
to Nisga’a lands and Nisga’a people,

Mi Nisga’a government will evolve over time
and will be compatible with federal and provin-
cial laws and standards.

Ii is remarkable that a case decided in this
country’s highesl court 23 years ago should just
now have become the source of so much debate
and dialogue about ils meaning.

The very fact that this debate is occurring il-
lustrates the challenge for Canadians, The chal-
lenge that negotiations between First Nations
and the senior governments of Canada are now,
finally, addressing is to give meaning io the dry
language of the Constitution.

The Constitution guarantees protection of ex-
isting aboriginal rights, bul those rights, in
many respects, have never been fully defined.

We, the Nisga’a people of the Nass Valley,
have placed our faith in the ability of the Cana-
dian justice system to right a historic wrong.

That faith was tested through more than 20
years of negotiations. It was tested in the Calder
case. It was tested by Nisga’a leaders who for
more than a century petitioned governments,
even though they were ignored, or turned away
at the steps of the legislature, to hear cur claim
for lands which bad been seized without com-
pensation or consent,

I believe this agreement tn principle, while not
perfect, while full of compromise and conces-
sions for the Nisga'a, is an opportunity ta gain
control of our fulure,

I believe il is the door through which we can
walk to join other groups in Canadian society,
as equals at lasl.

I believe it brings honor to all Canadians, as a
demonstration to. the world -.that people of
divergent races and histories can settic their dif-
ferences,

Without hatred, without bloodshed.

Joe Gosnell is the president of the Nisga’a
Tribal Council,

The Mail Bag

Parks ‘sting’ a waste

Dear Sir;

T hope all you taxpayers feel safer now.

The Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks gota
conviction against Stan Sowa at The Bear Paw
Ranch/Resort, He'll pay a fine of $1,500 dollars (or go
to jail) and he has lost his licerise as a sports angling
guide.

But while parks officials use the court win to boast of
how they’re protecting the wilderness from the bad
guys, take a long look at what happened here,

More than $40,000 taxpayer dollars were spent in
court costs and an elaborate undercover ‘sting’ aimed
at the Bear Paw Ranch/Resort. Why? To protect
Nadateslin Lake from over-fishing? No.

Neither Parks nor Fish and Wildlife have done any
meaningful inventory work on the lake. [It is known
that there are a lot of small rainbow present but just
how many and with what population trend hasn't been
assessed, There are no indications of over-fishing.

I’ve been down there five times in the last two years
and never seen another boat on the lake. So, did Parks
Spend the money on_ this proseculion to maintain
wilderness values by getting rid of noisy outboard jets?
No, nobody except the Bear Paw has been banned from
using jet motors on the lake,

Was it perhaps to avoid too much commercial: use?
Nobody except the Bear Paw has been conducting
commercial tours there... and they’ve been doing it
since before Nadateslin was a Park area. They were li-
ceused by Parks io show tourists the beautiful falls and,
yes, to sports fish, until the last few years.

Why was the right pulled? Ask Parks. If they arc
basically opposed to commercial ventures working ‘in
the Park lands, why is there such a thing as Park Use
Permits? And how are visitors to experience these
areas if not wilh qualified operators?

Inilially, the undercover operation resulted in a whole
bunch of charges, all saying basically the same thing:
“fish guiding in a provincial park without the neces-'
sary permit permission”. One assumes the multiple
charges were to insure that something stuck. It must
have been important to ‘‘get’’ the Bear Paw.

I can remember the days when you'd look
for the shoulder patch that said “Parks”? be-
cause they were people who cared about the
country and could help you experience the
wilderness. Now they act more like it’s their
park and we’re not welcome.

Was the infraction al Nadateslin just an excuse to
shut down this operation for other heinous crimes?
Poaching? Unethical behavior? No, even the un-
dercover agents reported being finmly rejected when
they inquired about guided bunting... and being told

they'd need additional licenses for steelhead or x salmon
“alam .};-.on the-Sukine when they.asked abc : ¥
In the end, only two charges, agaiust Stan Sowa,

were upheld and even then, the judge figured it should
be one charge.

The really strange thing is that, in court, the Parks of-
ficials testified that The Bear Paw was a class operation
and exactly the kind of tourist facilities they wanted to
work wiih in the areal

I’ve personally seen Stan Sowa pushed by a irate
European tourist for releasing fish. He actively
promotes catch and release. He taught my friends’
young sons to recognize signs of wildlife on the shore
sands while he coached Dad into his first rainbow on
the fly rod — and released it. Now he is being refused
renewal on his angling guide license from Fish and

. Wildlife because of this prosecution.

So now you have a wilderness tours resort with no Il-
censed angling guide, That’s how Parks ‘‘works wilh”

- what they describe as one of the best operations on

Hwy 37.

No, Bear Paw did not have a Park Use Permit in
place during that August, It had not been sent to them!
Despite the fact that the permit runs from January 1, it
has seldom been provided before May and often not
until well into the summer season. Operators through-
out the province carry on business without a current
P.U.P. in place every year. They have tol In the year in
question, the P.U.P. arrived in September, after the un-
dercover agents were sent in,

Yes, the Bear Paw was disputing the removal from
their permit of, first, Nadateslin and second, the Iskut
River from Kinaskan Lake to Nadatclsin. Parks offi-
cials assured there would not be changes or restrictions
without cansullation and good reason, There were nei-
ther.

Meanwhile, forcign nationals continue to unofficially
and illegally haul tourists into this and other northern
lakes — without permits, licenses, regard for conserva-
tion or the catch limits. But they’re probably too hard
to find and prosecute, Why not stick to the locals who
have to have paperwork and pay taxes. They’re easicr
to find.

Sadly, I can remember the days when you'd look for
the shoulder patch that said ‘'Parks’’. because they
were people who cared about the country and could
help you experience the wilderness.

Now they act more like it’s their park and we're not
welcome, except to foot the bill for ridiculous, wasteful
and counter-productive court cases.

Walt Liimatalnen
Trince Ceorge, B.C.
i

A beautiful bridge

Dear Sir:

T would like to take this opportunity to thank the high
school construction class members that built the
wooden bridge at Ferry Island.

We are avid Ferry Island hikers and campers. a few
weeks ago we had found certain areas of the walkway
inaccessible because of water damage.

Walking over one of these marshy areas over a bridge
this weekend was certainly a pleasure.

The construction was first-rate and rugged — I im-
agine a few generations of Ferry Island goers will grow
up using this same bridge!

What a wonderful use of young talent and strength, I
applaud your efforts and hope for siniilar projects in

- the future.

“Gorton, Schuss
- Terrace, B.C,