Rally at gov't building

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Meech Lake accord protested by leaders

The Meech Lake accord betrays Aboriginal people and jeopardizes treaty rights say Indian Association of Alberta leaders.

About 100 demonstrators demonstrated against the accord at the Alberta legislature Monday Nov. 23 and called upon the government to change it to allow for treaty protection. Protestors also called upon the government to settle the Lubicon Lake band's land claim.

"Mulroney calls Meech Lake an historic agreement that brings Quebec into the constitution, but he conveniently forgets about treaty and Aboriginal rights," said president Gregg Smith to the assembled crowd on the steps of the legislature.

"Until our rights are properly recognized and entrenched, Canada will be incomplete," he added.

The Meech Lake accord is an agreement between the provinces and the federal government that will allow Quebec to enter into Confederation. Quebec refused to sign the constitution when it was rapatriated in 1982 because former Premier Rene Levesque said Quebec is a unique and distinct society.

The new accord recognizes Quebec as a distinct society and has given far ranging powers to all the provinces including allowing them to select Supreme Court judges and opt out of federal spending programs.

And, in order to amend the constitution all provinces must agree. Currently, a constitutional amendment only requires the majority of provinces calculated on population.

Smith and other members of the association feel that once the accord is ratified Aboriginal self-government will be almost impossible to achieve.

Treaty 8 vice-president Lawrence Courtoreille called upon the government to reopen negotiations on the accord to allow for Aboriginal input.

Courtoreille submitted a three-part demand to the legislature which calls for a "fair settlement for the Lubicon claim, that the Meech Lake accord include treaty and Aboriginal rights, or totally scrap the accord."

Association official Peter Many Wounds Jr. then called upon the government to speak but when no official came forward, led the crowd in a chant of "wimps."

Courtoreille added that when Premier Getty gets any opposition "he calls Albertans wimps. We're not going to take that. We won't be called wimps," he said.