C-31 court case can continue without Twinn

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Alberta Senator and Sawridge First Nation Chief Walter Twinn was a large factor in the push to appeal Bill C-31. Since the senator's death on Oct. 30, many questions remain about the continued support of the wealthy northern Alberta First Nation regarding the controversial issue.

Interview requests to the Sawridge band have not been answered as it attempts to re-structure its administration after more than three decades under Twinn's leadership.

Speculation is that Twinn's wife, Catherine, is planning to take over the Bill C-31 appeal, but she could not be reached for comment.

The C-31 bill has been a troubling issue since it was announced by the federal government in 1985. Initially, the bill was intended to allow thousands of treaty-status women who had married non-treaty men, or people who had previously lost their status for a variety of other reasons, to regain treaty status.

The Sawridge First Nation, near Slave Lake in northern Alberta, and the southern Alberta Native communities of Tsuu T'ina and Ermineskin First Nations, took the bill to task on the grounds that it was not constitutional for the government to regulate who was a treaty member of a particular band.

In 1995, the three First Nations lost their court case to have the bill revoked, but in June of this year that decision was reversed by the Federal Court of Appeal.

That left the door open for the groups to again fight the bill in court.

However, as of Dec. 1, the Congress of Aboriginal people - a national group dedicated to bringing treaty rights back to the people - will file for an appeal of the federal court's most recent ruling. Until their legal work is cleared through the courts, any plans to re-play the original battle over C-31 must wait.

Ermineskin lawyer Marvin Stouro said further action is on hold until the Congress of Aboriginal People's appeal is addressed by the courts.

He said his law firm hasn't heard anything from Ermineskin leaders about when a new challenge to C-31 will take place - if at all.

"We don't have any indication whether to proceed or not," he said from his Vancouver office. "And that's not up to me. It's up to the bands."

Ermineskin representatives could not be reached for comment.

Stouro said the court case could proceed even without Twinn. He said any one of the groups could continue the court battle independently, because it only takes one to win.

"It can be split up," he said, again adding that his law firm has received no indications from its clients on what will happen next.

Doris Ronnenberg is president of the Alberta chapter of the Native Council of Canada. The council is a provincial component of the national Congress of Aboriginal People. Ronnenberg has been fighting to have the rights of C-31 people re-established as long as Sawridge, Ermineskin and Tsuu T'ina have been fighting against the bill.

Despite being on the other side of the table from Twinn, Ronnenberg was saddened by his death.

"His children lost a father and his family [lost] a husband," she said.

Ronnenberg admired Twinn for his strong business sense and the success he had in his community.

"What you had to give Walter was that he was a good businessman. You can't take that away from him."

Ronnenberg said he will be remembered, but the fight for the rights of C-31 people must go on.

Ronnenberg is confident the appeal taking place now will turn out favorably for those fighting for Bill C-31. She said the Federal Court of Appeal reversed the original decision only because it felt the judge's comments were biased, not because of the contents of the bill.

"They in no way said that the winning was wrong. It was not set aside on the merits of the case. . . it was only the comments of the judge that were viewed as biased," she said.

For now, Ronnenberg and lawyers from both sides of the issue will wait for the outcome of the latest appeal to Bill C-31.

"Everything is at a stand-still," she sad.

Estimates on when further action may start up range anywhere from three to nine months.