Deal proof of progress

Page 4

It's here. After months of consultations, meetings and negotiations, the leader of four national aboriginal organizations and the provincial premiers have arrived at a self-government deal they are willing to take to the country.

This clearly represents giant strides since the days of the failed Meech Lake accord. Native concerns have moved to the top of the national agenda in the three years since Elijah Harper, the soft-spoken member of the Manitoba legislature, told the country Native constitutional aspirations could no longer be ignored.

It's hard to believe how quickly the legitimacy of Native concerns were recognized and taken up by the Canadian public. The standoff at Oka and Harper's understated role in sinking Meech have shown Canada there is power in the Native community, power that must be recognized as legitimate.

How far the constitutional deal goes in recognizing that legitimate power, however, is a matter of some debate. While national leaders hail this agreement as an historic breakthrough, regional leaders are seeing holes in the fabric.

Kahanawake chief Billy Two Rivers calls this deal a sell-out because the Quebec Government will be part of the process as his community negotiates their government. After witnessing the violence of the Oka crisis and daily police harassment on his own reserve, it's easy to understand why he doesn't want to deal with Quebec.

Likewise, Alberta Treaty chiefs want to negotiate their government based on treaties with the Crown, with Ottawa alone. The province of Alberta, they say, has no role in defining their status as a nation. Self-government is implicitly recognized and should flow from the treaties. Bringing the provinces into negotiations on that original relationship between nations threatens to dilute the original power of the treaties.

It remains to be seen if the current deal will create the problems anticipated by

its critics. The emphasis now is on negotiating specific arrangements. If the provinces

and the federal government approach the coming talks in good faith and with a desire

to genuinely redistribute power, then it is possible to achieve satisfaction.

The constitutional deal as it now stands is vague on specifics. That leaves people with questions and concerns. The real test of the deal's power will come in the next few years of specific negotiations.

But perhaps it is better to be in a situation that will see definitions evolve. It is certainly better than having specific lists of powers written out before negotiations begin, as some premiers had hoped would be the case.

For now, people should take a breather, sit back and digest the end result of what has been a stressful process.

Rest well. There is still much work to do.