'Nova Scotia' proposal boosts FMC hopes

Page 2

The Nova Scotia government has offered a middle ground approach to dealing with the definition and protection of Aboriginal rights to self-government, Georges Erasmus, president of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) recently reported to Native media.

The parties involved in the preparatory meeting to the First Ministers' Conference (FMC) on Aboriginal constitutional matters, are polarizing their positions, said Erasmus.

At the ministerial meetings, the federal government has been pushing for Aboriginal acceptance of contingent rights, and process that is unacceptable to Aboriginal organizations.

"They were putting forth a delegated form of government that is based on contingent rights, and no rights would be entrenched 'til the process of defining Aboriginal self-government with provincial involvement was completed," said Erasmus.

Rather than accept the federal proposal, the four Native organizations involved in the FMC talks, got together to reject it in favour of an explicit recognition of the inherent right of Aboriginal people to self-government.

The AFN, the Metis National Council (MNC), the Inuit Committee on National Issues (ICNI) and the Native Council of Canada (NCC), decided that "we're prepared to take nothing rather than accept the federal proposal that has excluded lands and resources," said Erasmus.

The contingent approach included in the federal proposal would mean that "you don't have a right until the process is concluded and you've negotiated on a specific basis what your rights are," explained Erasmus.

Another area in which the federal proposal is unacceptable, Erasmus reported, is that provincial governments would always be involved and would have an equal say to negotiated agreements, even in areas where provinces have no jurisdiction.

"We are very, very adamant that the provinces do not have a role in future agreements unless invited by Aboriginal parties. These agreements must be nation to nation agreements," said Erasmus.

"It's a bilateral process, a nation to nation, government to government relationship that now exists in the Constitution. And we want that process to be there in the future," said Erasmus.

An amendment entrenching their inherent rights to self-government in the Constitution is what Aboriginal people want, said Erasmus.

This would be followed by negotiated agreements between Native people and governments on what form self-government would take.

Provincial governments can get involved only after Native groups invite provincial participation, according to Erasmus.

The Nova Scotia proposal attempts to find a way to protect what Aboriginal and Treaty rights are included in the Constitution, explained Erasmus.

Erasmus did outline certain features of the Nova Scotia proposal that received favourable attention from the Native organizations.

The Nova Scotia proposal does not propose contingent rights, but proposes a recognition of a right that might not be enforceable immediately, but is still a right, said Erasmus.

The Nova Scotia proposal also includes a process where Native people and government would negotiate and implement treaties across the country.

Other favourable features of the Nova Scotia proposal listed by Erasmus include an equity of access to negotiate for all Aboriginal people. Native people would actually initiate the negotiation process, Native people could decide which parties would be involved at the negotiation table and for the first time government are directed to negotiate in good faith.

The Nova Scotia proposal also deals with the financial responsibility of the federal government to Aboriginal self-government negotiation, and deals with the principle that all Aboriginal governments be capable of delivering services that are at least equal to the services other governments in Canada delivers.

One of the things that the Nova Scotia proposal did was to remove the federal government's proposal of the talks, said Erasmus.