DOUG EYFORD, A VANCOUVER LAWYER,

A NEW FIRST NATIONS COURT  has opened up in Duncan, B.C. It is the first such court on Vancouver Island, providing a new option as people attempt to navigate the judicial system. “This court is unique compared to the contemporary Provincial Court,” said Cowichan Tribes Community Justice Coordinator Calvin Swustus. “It does have a First Nations judge, a First Nations Crown counsel, and duty counsel.” Those who plead guilty, or have been found guilty, may be eligible to have their case transferred to First Nations court.

DEVELOPMENT OF A VANCOUVER REAL ESTATE PROJECT

GRAND CHIEF DOUG KELLY,  chair of the First Nations Health Council, was joined Oct. 21 by Rona Ambrose, federal Minister of Health, and B.C. Minister of Health Terry Lake, to celebrate the historic transfer of all health programs and services for B.C. First Nations previously administered by Health Canada to the new First Nations Health Authority (FNHA). “Now is the time for B.C. First Nations to take our rightful place, determining our own health outcomes and what wellness means to us,” said Kelly.

THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA must stop experimenting with the lives of First Nations children. Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee said the federal government’s plan to unilaterally push ahead with a First Nations Education Act looks like the latest in a long list of federal attempts to control the destiny of First Nations people. “They have used us like lab rats—sterilized us and starved us, and forced us to attend schools where we were beaten and abused and thousands of our children died,” Madahbee said.

A CEDAR SIGN THAT HAD THE TRADITIONAL NAME PKOLS

THE FORMER NATIONAL CHIEF OF THE ASSEMBLY OF FIRST

Chief and Mayor of theLax Kw'alaams Band, Garry Reece, invited his members to a meeting in early October where an entrepreneur would propose construction of an oil refinery to be built at Grassy Point near Prince Rupert on B.C’s north coast. The refinery idea is a proposal by Eagle Spirit Energy Holdings, Ltd., founded by Calvin Helin, author of Dances with Dependency, who is a Lax Kw’alaams member himself.

THE FEDERATION OF SASKATCHEWAN INDIAN NATIONS (FSIN)
has a new 25-year gaming agreement with the province. It provides the First Nations organization exclusive rights over the next three years to propose a casino in Saskatoon. “It’s a work in progress,” FSIN Chief Perry Bellegarde. “It’s up to the SIGA (Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority) board now. Our objective was to get a long-term political agreement between the province of Saskatchewan and the FSIN. We’ve secured that and it will help facilitate a lot of developments.”

The Court of Appeal in Alberta has permitted the Fort McKay First Nation to challenge Brion Energy’s plans for a 50,000-barrel-a-day operation northwest of Fort McMurray.† It means the Alberta Energy Regulator’s decision not to consider the band’s arguments that members’ constitutional rights were violated during the approval process can be questioned by the First Nation. “There is a live issue respecting the regulator’s interpretation of its power to decide constitutional issues,” wrote Justice Frans Slatter.