Nisga’a debt climbs A10 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 22, 1999 Next year in Ottawa before treaty passes FEDERAL Iegislation to invoke the Nisga’a treaty will wait until at least March before it pets final passage in Parliament. The House of Commons passed Bill C-9 Dec. 13 by a vote of 217-48 after an all-out campaign against the treaty waged by fed- eral Reform MPs. | But the Senate, which gave the treaty bill second reading Dec. 16, has- ad- journed until Feb, 8,-2000 when debate in the upper chamber will get. underway in earnest. All indications are Se- nators want to study the treaty in detail and will hold committee hearings in Ottawa. That comes as a disap- pointment for the Nisga’a, who had hoped for final passage before year end. Besides the symbolism of starting the new mille- anium with the newly min- ted treaty, the Nisga’a government is also losing- money with each month of delay. The Nisga’a owe Otta- wa about $50 million for the years that the federal government paid — the Nisga’a treaty negotiation casts. Bach extra month adds more than another $1 million to the total bill- that will be deducted from the treaty cash settlement, said tribal council presi- dent Joe Gosnell. “I cannot possibly see what other questions the Senate would raise that has not been dealt with in all of our meetings plus the debate in the House of Commons,” he said. “But. it’s a process we have to live with.” ~ Gosnell said the delay Spending worries: trustees" NEW SCHOOL trustees aren’t happy about spend- ing $40,000 to look for a new school superintendent. The expenditure on a Vancouver head-hunting firm was agreed to prior to the November school dis- trict elections. But new trustees now say they want to review the plan and will do so at the next school board meeting in January. At the same time, the district is committing $112,224 a year for a human resources director and support workers. This person will have as a first task filling several vacant administrative po- sitions by June 2000. The job was created upon the advice of consul- tants hired last year to help solve the district’s budget problems. Acting superintendent Sharon Beedle said the human resources director will handle all labour rela- tions and human resources, A new secretary-trea- surer has already been hired but a director of in-. struction (support services) is needed as is a First Na- tions principal. This posi- - tion has been vacant for 14 months, The board also needs a new maintenance superin- tendent, a position that has been vacant since Harry Ebert retired in the spring. When Harold Cox, dir- . ector of instruction for kin- dergarten to Grade {2 re- tires at the end of the year, his position will not be filled. A new half time district principal will be hired to ~ share some of the work thal will be left when Cox's position is elimina- ted. The $40,000 for a new superintendent goes to Vancouver consultants Dugal Smith and Price Waterhouse Cooper. Included in that amount is an organizalional review. of the district,- which will © help the board define and ~ structure the district. just means mote chances for treaty opponents to re- Broup and try to block pas- sage. After the Senate passes the legislation -it stifl has to receive “royal assent, and then will be subject to -a series ‘of court chal- lenges on constitulional “grounds. “We've been put through the meat grinder for almost the last’ four years,” Gosnell said. “We've been ground up and ground up and ground up some more. And the grinding still hasn’t finished.” Gosnell was given the Canadian flag. that flew from the Peace Tower the day the House of Com- mons passed the treaty. Another souvenir of the . fe % od a oe md session also began circula- ting last week. T-shirts were produced embla- zoned with the message “Nisga’a 471, Reform 0” - a reference to Gosnell’s widely quoted comments on the final score after Re- formers forced votes on 471 proposed amendments _to the treaty. Besides demands for a treaty referendum in B.C., Reformers wanted to se- parate self-government provisions from the trealy so they won’t be protected within the Constitution and become virtually unchan- geable. The governing Liberals twice cut short debate on the treaty Se did the NDP provincial government “when it passed the treaty last spring in B.C. iyemepniceneseibienimenaisisiaiyanntpansunnerialbimmennnbeiedsedraionig AA TTR McEwan GM in Terrace 635-4941... We'd 1g you to know more: Conta visit us at your focal dealer, on our wabsite at par acest Ov call 1-B00-GM-DRIVE. ‘Offer based on Sune Coupe R72Jimmy 4-Door A7Z/Montana firzSiera eg Cab R7a/Slerra Ext, Cab RIB. 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