Harper's new Indigenous Policy

HARPER GOES NATIVE

Jordan Himmelfarb in Mediascout:

The National goes inside with a new bill from the Conservative government meant to help settle Canada’s more than eight hundred outstanding native land claim disputes. The bill proposes the establishment of an independent tribunal of Superior Court judges, which would be charged with the settlement of land claims that have died or have been stalled for at least three years. Under the current, phlegmatic system, in which the federal government is the sole deciding body in land-claims disputes, it takes an average of thirteen years to achieve a settlement. If the bill becomes law, the government will also commit $250 million per year for ten years to work through the hundreds of unresolved claims, only a tiny percentage of which are, as of now, being actively negotiated. Phil Fontaine, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, co-authored the bill and is quoted on The National as saying: “I’m confident this will work because it’s our process as well.” However, not all native groups are as confident. An article from yesterday’s issue of the Globe details the concerns outlined in a letter from Grand Chief Ken Malloway, chairman of the British Columbia Specific Claims Committee, who argues that the bill was drafted with insufficient consultation and does not offer enough money to deal with the claims in a timely fashion.