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The year 2010 was eventful for Aboriginal people in Alberta. From education issues to human rights issues to land issues: the common denominator was fighting for rights that were part of agreements whether settlements, treaties or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Battles took place both in the boardroom and in the court room. Another common denominator for most was that they are ongoing issues, whether it’s to ensure delivery on a negotiated Memorandum of Understanding for education or to ensure the protection of the Woodland caribou.
The top 10 news events for 2010 are, of course, subjective in choice. They are listed below in order of occurrence.
Northland School Division corporate board disbanded
On Jan. 21, Education Minister David Hancock replaced the 23-member school board committee for Northlands School Division with an official trustee, former NSD superintendent Colin Kelly. Hancock also appointed a three-member inquiry team to examine the operations of NSD and to report with recommendations within a six-month time frame. However, at year’s end, although the minister had the report in hand, the findings had not been made public. Department spokesperson, Eoin Kenny said the report had to go through cabinet and caucus because there were “all kinds of ramifications,” which included other provincial departments. Steve Noskey, displaced chair of the board, called the minister’s action “racism,” while former minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and now backbencher Lesser Slave Lake MLA Pearl Calahasen attacked Hancock’s actions as “paternalistic” and “heavy handed.” Kelly’s appointment runs through until October 2013 when general school board elections are held throughout the province.
Education MOU sets right direction
A memorandum of understanding signed Feb. 24 at Tsuu T’ina First Nation, between the federal and provincial governments and chiefs of Treaty 6, 7 and 8, commits all five parties to providing a better future for First Nations children in the province, both those who attend band schools and those who go to off-reserve schools.
Principles set out in the MOU call for all parties to “work collaboratively and expeditiously to continuously improve educational outcomes for First Nation students.” An Indigenous Knowledge and Wisdom Centre, with the “focus on improving the educational outcomes of First Nation students in a culturally appropriate and responsive education environment” will be established by the Alberta First Nations, with support from the federal government for annual funding and from the provincial government for “in-kind support and expertise to build capacity.” The MOU also calls for the establishment of an Alberta First Nation Education Circle to, in part, oversee the implementation of the commitments outlined in the document. “This (MOU) establishes a new relationship in moving forward on First Nations education,” said Marilyn Buffalo, education director with the Confederacy of Treaty 6. The MOU came with no extra financial commitment.
Métis citizenship drive stalled
On Aug. 7, the Métis Nation of Alberta executive experienced its second defeat in its attempt to revamp Métis citizenship. The resolution was also defeated at the special assembly in June. It was a resounding blow for the MNA executive. The MNA adopted a new definition of Métis in 2002, stating, “Métis means a person who self-identifies as a Métis, is distinct from other Aboriginal peoples, is of historic Métis Nation ancestry, and is accepted by the Métis Nation.” According to MNA President Audrey Poitras it was an important move to go from Métis membership to Métis citizenship. “You can’t develop a constitution if you don’t know who your citizens are,” she said. There are 40,000 MNA members, but after a five year campaign for people to prove citizenship, there are only 15,000 who hold citizenship cards. Métis organizations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Ontario are all working on similar citizenship registries as the MNA.
Aboriginal human rights addressed in report
In March, the Aboriginal Commission on Human Rights and Justice released The Aboriginal Perspective on Human Rights in Alberta, a document outlining why Aboriginal people don’t use the system and the barriers they face in having discrimination, which permeates every aspect of society, addressed. “Many (Aboriginal people) were unaware that they had legally binding rights to be treated with respect and without discrimination,” said Muriel Stanley Venne, commission co-chair. She also noted that a “let it be” attitude displayed by Aboriginal people is another reason why the Canadian Human Rights Commission and its Alberta counterpart were not receiving the number of complaints that would be a truer representation of the amount of discrimination Aboriginals face on a daily basis. Research for the report was conducted through community forums in Edmonton, Calgary, and Grande Prairie and with an electronic survey. The findings were backed by a literature review of Alberta-based research on discrimination against Aboriginal people. The report noted that 73 per cent of those surveyed said they had not sought help after experiencing discrimination because they feared that “reporting would not result in help or action, (feared) that the claim would not be taken seriously, or (feared) that the process would be too stressful.” The report further states, “The goal of uncovering, addressing, and ending discrimination is to ensure that Aboriginal people can contribute and participate fully in the social, cultural, political and economic life of the province while maintaining unique identities, histories, traditions, languages, and rights ...”
Alberta has newest First Nation
On June 30, James Alook was voted in as chief for the 45th First Nation in Alberta. The negotiations that formed Peerless Trout First Nation was a result of the Bigstone Cree land claim settlement. Between February 22 and March 5, Bigstone Cree Nation and the communities of Calling Lake, Chipewyan Lake, Peerless Lake and Trout Lake held ratification votes, approving the offer tabled by the federal and provincial governments to settle Bigstone’s treaty land entitlement and ancillary benefits claims under Treaty 8. “It seemed like a long time when things didn’t move,” said Alook, whose wife Dorothy Alook was part of the negotiation team. “There were times when things didn’t seem to go the way they should.” This is the largest claim settlement in Alberta and one of the largest in Canada. It includes $249.4 million and 140,000 acres. A reserve will be created for Peerless and Trout Lakes with 63,000 acres set aside for the Peerless Trout First Nation. As well, 77,000 acres will be set aside for new reserves around the Bigstone communities of Wabasca, Calling Lake, and Chipewyan Lake. Peerless Trout First Nation has approximately 750 members. Land entitlement payments of $3,500 per member were distributed in time for Christmas.
Partnership struck for innovative approach to resource development
In May, after six months of negotiations, Ermineskin Cree Nation Chief Gerry Ermineskin signed a 50/50 joint venture partnership agreement with Blaine Favel, president and chief executive officer of One Earth Oil and Gas Inc. What is tagged as an innovative approach to oil and gas development, One Earth will be working on land that will remain leased by Ermineskin Cree Nation. With an equal partnership, Ermineskin Cree and One Earth will share development costs in the wells and receive a share in company profits. Ermineskin Cree Nation will still receive its royalties. One Earth will work directly with Ermineskin Resource Development to identify needs and develop training programs. ERD will select both employees and service companies. “The economic spinoffs that we’ll derive from this agreement . . . these are things we look forward to for our members for employment and training and the economic opportunities for our First Nation,” said Ermineskin. Favel noted that One Earth Oil and Gas is also pursuing off-reserve lands and has committed to Ermineskin Cree Nation to provide them with the opportunity to invest in this further development. One Earth Oil and Gas is in discussion with other First Nations, but this is the first agreement that the company, part of the Sprott Resource Corp., has signed with a band council.
Government response to Child Welfare review not enough
In October, the provincial government released its response to the June report filed by the Alberta Children Intervention Review Panel. The year-long review of Alberta’s system for placing and looking after children in government care is recommending the province make 14 changes. Jean Lafrance, former Children’s Advocate for Alberta’s Children’s Services, said the government had to put the resources where they were needed. The government’s response to the review “as far as (the government’s recommendations) go are probably okay, but I don’t think they go far enough,” said Lafrance. “The response of the minister (Yvonne Fritz) frightens me. We don’t need a measured response. We need a powerful response.” Lafrance said a shortcoming of Child Welfare was that Aboriginal people were not allowed to develop their own vision. Elders, community members and leaders need to be brought into the picture, said Lafrance. The Children’s Services budget is $1.3 billion. Since two-thirds of the children in care are Aboriginal, two-thirds of the budget should be used to address Aboriginal issues, said Lafrance. Among the panel’s recommendations were to establish an ongoing, tripartite process between the federal and provincial governments and First Nations; establish an off-reserve Aboriginal service delivery stream; accreditation of all child intervention services delivered by government or on behalf of the government; and establish a Child and Family Service Quality Council.
Protection for Woodland caribou
In September, Beaver Lake Cree Nation, Enoch Cree Nation, and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation joined forces with two environmental groups, Alberta Wilderness Association and Pembina Institution, to challenge the federal government to step up to the plate and protect the Woodland caribou. Aggressive protection for the Woodland caribou as a threatened species is being sought. A letter sent by the First Nations to Environment Minister Jim Prentice this summer instructed Prentice “to comply with your mandatory statutory duties under s. 80(2) of the Species at Risk Act, by recommending to the federal Cabinet that it make an emergency order to protect Woodland caribou and their habitat from any further industrial development in the full ranges of the remaining herds in northeastern Alberta (or in a wider area).” Jack Woodward, legal counsel for the First Nations said, “The Supreme Court was clear (in 2005) . . . that these treaty rights are constitutionally protected. They were the highest kind of law in Canada, supersede federal legislation, supersede provincial legislation. They’re protected under the constitution and they’re not just rights to go out hunt game in a place where the land hasn’t been cleared. They included protection of enough habitat so there’s a meaningful supply of animals.” Because of the magnitude of the case, a federal case management judge has been appointed.
MNA appeals harvesting trial decision
On Dec. 1, Métis packed into provincial court in Medicine Hat and listened for over an hour while Justice Ted Fisher read an 11-point decision that ended with Métis harvester Garry Hirsekorn being found guilty under two counts of the Wild Life Act and fined $350 for each. In his decision, Fisher stated that he would not rule on the claim that there was a rights-bearing northwest Métis community which would encompass Métis in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. He limited his decision to Métis rights to harvest in central and southern Alberta. He said based on historical information presented there was no indication that the Métis were in that part of Alberta with any consistency prior to the Northwest Mounted Police arriving in 1874. Fisher also said that collateral attack against the province’s Wild Life Act by invoking Sect. 35 of the Constitution, which proclaims Aboriginal rights, was not appropriate in a criminal proceeding. He said the case would have been better handled in civil court and at that time all Métis who were facing charges under the Wild Life Act could have been dealt with. The trial encompassed 42 days with proceedings beginning in April 2009. Hirsekorn’s charges stem from an incident in 2007 where he killed a mule deer near Elkwater. The hunt was part of provincial Métis action to bring attention to harvesting rights. The verdict was appealed by MNA lawyers and the hearing is scheduled for March 7, 2011.
Intervener status argued at Supreme Court of Canada
On Dec. 16, Jean Teillet, lawyer for the Métis Nation of Alberta, argued the MNA’s case for intervener status in Cunningham v. Alberta in front of the Supreme Court of Canada. The MNA was joined for the bid for intervener status by the Métis National Council. The SCC reserved its decision. In June of 2009, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled two sections of the Métis Settlements Act unconstitutional, striking them down and effectively allowing Métis who are registered under the Indian Act to maintain their membership in their settlement. Sect. 75 prohibits anyone with Indian status from obtaining Métis settlement membership, while Sect. 90 calls for the removal of membership from the settlement for individuals who have voluntarily registered as Indians under the Indian Act. The MNA claims the Alberta Court of Appeal has taken the decision of who can be considered Métis out of the hands of the Métis people.
Jason Madden, counsel for MNC, said there was an “abuse of process” when Barbara Cunningham, John Kenneth Cunningham, Lawrent Cunningham, Ralph Cunningham, Lynn Noskey, Gordon Cunningham, Roger Cunningham and Ray Stuart were removed from the Peavine Métis Settlement’s membership roll in May 2001, but striking down sections 75 and 90 of the MSA was “not an appropriate remedy.” If intervener status is granted, the organizations will provide written arguments to the court and may also be given the opportunity to present oral arguments.
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