Research paper shopped around

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Connie Larochelle, a citizen of the Haisla First Nation near Terrace, B.C., has spent the last several years doing research for a master's thesis on a topic that will be of interest to most, if not all, First Nations communities.

Her thesis is titled "Framework for calculating compensation for the infringement of Aboriginal interests, rights and title: Case study." All she needs now is a First Nation community that's willing to take part.

It all began on Dec. 11, 1997. That was the day the Supreme Court of Canada rendered the Delgamuukw decision, which recognized the reality of Aboriginal title and discussed the concept of compensation for infringement of Aboriginal title.

The basic idea is that infringement and compensation are such new concepts that all sides of the question are unsure of where to go next. The research will look at next steps and compare other areas of compensation so as to put things in perspective.

"If you're infringing on Aboriginal rights and title, you need to pay compensation before the infringement happens. Has that happened? Has anyone ever actually acknowledged paying compensation?" she said. "People don't know what compensation looks like. Compensation is not necessarily just a monetary value. What I'm doing with my research is, I'm looking at compensation from different fields of study. So it's not necessarily just Aboriginal rights and title compensation. Because it's such a new field, I'm looking at what they're paying in the human rights field. What are they paying in punitive or general damages in the courts? Compensation's supposed to be fair and equitable, so what you do in other fields you should be able to transfer into Aboriginal rights and title. In my research, I haven't seen that happening. It's almost like Aboriginal rights and title are valued less than what's considered fair and equitable in other fields; Hepatitis C, for example."

Larochelle hopes her research will help all parties become more comfortable with the ideas put forward in the Delgamuukw decision.

"People find it very distasteful to put a value on things that are intangible-spiritual values, cultural values. My argument is that compensation isn't just about money. It may be management over a resource. It may be protection of one area over another. It may be the funding of a cultural camp. And that has happened in the oil and gas industry. They've come up with some innovative ways. It'll open up the doors," she said.

Although she is employed by the Upper Nicola First Nation and works in Kamloops, Larochelle is a masters of environmental management student at Royal Roads University in Victoria. Royal Roads was the fifth stop in her search to find a place to do her research.

"I submitted my resume to BC Hydro to work as a co-op student. I asked if I could do my co-op paper, which was undergraduate work, on calculating compensation. So my first rejection was at the undergraduate level. They claimed it was not a co-op level paper. Fair enough," she said.

The next stop was Compton Rivers University. They said the subject was not a BA level paper but a master's level. At the University of Northern British Columbia, the administration agreed it was a graduate level idea for research but said they had no staff with the ability to supervise the work.

"Then I went to the University of Victoria for public administration. I thought this was a very appropriate topic to do a master's paper on. They said, 'No, this is a PhD paper.'

Royal Roads accepted her as a master's student. The only problem there was a concern about confidentiality and copyright. Thesis papers are routinely deposited with the National Library of Canada once a university accepts them. This work would be groundbreaking and of great potential value to the First Nation sponsor.

That slowed things down a bit.

"I know First Nations will have difficulties with this sensitive of a topic being published at the National Library of Canada. Four year later, 14 weeks ago, we re-opened discussions with Royal Roads University," she said on Oct. 17. "They came back and said, 'We're willing to look at your confidentiality concerns.'"

Larochelle said she pointed out that graduate students often work on research that is sponsored by industry because it will produce an advantage in the marketplace and that research is not made public. She was able to convince Royal Roads that her work was of a similar nature.

It won't take much effort or cost much to be part of this research and the host community will own the research and have protected copyright for five years. At most, three or four community meetings of two to four hour sessions with some technical staff involvement will be required. Larochelle will need financial assistance with travel expenses, but will not take a wage or stipend. If you are interested in taking part in this project e-mail Larochelle at biology@telus.net.