Liberals gearing up
for treaty court case

THE B.C. LIBERALS say
they're delermined to pro-
ceed with a lawsuit that
could seuttle the Nisga‘a
treaty.

Their challenge is to be
heard in B.C. Supreme
Court starting May 15 =
just days after the trealy
takes effect lomorrow..and
a massive celebration

takes place ine Gitwink---

sihlkw on Friday." -

“Nothing has happened
io change our betief in the
validity of our- position,”
said B.C. Liberal aborigi-
nal affairs critic Mike De
Jong last week.

He's one of three plain-
tiffs along with ‘Liberal
leader Gordon’ Campbell
and MLA Geoff.
seeking a court deciaration
that the treaty is unconsti-
tutional.

“We think the self-gov-
ernment provisions creale
a third order of government

our Constitution presently |

doesn’t recognize and we
have concern about voting
rights that are tied to eth-
nicity,” De Jong said. “We

Plant.

Mike De , Jong

think the Charter of Rights
precludes any government

restricting your ability to:

vote based on ethnicity.”
“If we're right we have
an unconstitutional docu-
-ment and we have to find
that out now rather than
later.” .

The hearing is expected
to last around two weeks,
he said, but appeals of the
decision to higher courts
could mean the final out-

come won't be known for
much longer.

“Depending on what it
says we may be teft with a
document that is of no real
force and effect,” De Jong
said, “We'd then have to
look at it to see what has
to be done to bring it in
line with what the ruling
has brought down.”

“At worst,” it'may call
for some tenegotiation of
the treaty.”

De Jong. admitted: the
faet the treaty will be rati-
fied by ail: governments,
celebrated and put into ef-
fect-has upped the stakes
of the lawsuil.-

“It “would. have becn
nice to have this ruling in
advance of all that,” he
noted.

"We? ll now. have to see

whether the negotiators

and the government who
assured’ us all this was
constitutional. and proper

“were -correct or’ whether

they were perhaps hiding

something they didn’! want

British Columbians to
know.”

Native leaders pledge
more closely

to work

CLOSE TO 75 aboriginal
leaders from across the
northwest met here recent-
ly to rekindle to rekindle
an alliance for common
grounds on land claims
and other issues.

The native groups — the
Haida, Haisla, Tsimshian,
Gitanyow, Gitxsan,
Wet’suwet’en, Lake Ba-
bine Nation, and Tl’azt'en
~ agreed fo ressurrect the
Northwest Tribal Treaty
agreement under which

they first agreed in 1991 to -

cooperate where possible,
Only ‘the Nisga’a were

absent from the April.27-.

28 ‘meeting because of
preparations underway for
their treaty to take effect
tomarrow in the Nass Val-

ley.

“We've pot a strong
commitment to help each
other,” said spokesman
Gerald Wesley, who's also
the Tsimshian chief land
claims (realy negotiator.
“We've got a lot of issues
in common.”

Issues where the groups
think they can pool their
efforts include coming up
with strategies to deal with
the loss of land and re-
sources while treaty: talks
continue,

Wesley said many of

the tribal groups are also. .

‘looking at ways to exploit

.the opportunities created

by the Supreme Court’s
Delgamuukw decision on
aboriginal title.

He said the group will

meet again June 1-2 at
Lake Babine near Burns
Lake.

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