Land Claim Laws to Change

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is planning to announce plans to speed up land claims, as native groups prepare for a national day of action on June 29.  Sources say Harper will propose a plan that follows the recommendations of the Senate standing committee on aboriginal peoples. The committee examined ways to streamline the settlement process, which now takes an average of 13 years.

One of the things it recommended was increased funding to speed the process. Sources with the Assembly of First Nations say Harper could put as much as $250 million a year toward settling the claims — more money than the assembly had hoped for. Also expected is legislation, to be co-written with the national AFN, outlining how to settle the outstanding claims.

A new, independent agency is expected to be established to settle some of the claims. Currently, the Indian Claims Commission investigates treaty violations, but it cannot make binding rulings. Critics have long called for an independent land claims process with more money and staff to settle cases.

There are more than 800 outstanding specific land claims in Canada, according to the commission, which has a staff of 51 people and had an annual budget of $6.9 million in the fiscal year 2005-2006. The Assembly of First Nations has said it would take about 130 years to resolve the outstanding claims at the current pace of negotiations.

The assembly has called for a national day of action on June 29 to draw attention to outstanding land claims, and to the racism and poverty faced by First Nations communities. While Phil Fontaine, the head of the AFN, has always said he prefers peaceful diplomacy, Chief Terry Nelson of the Roseau River First Nation in Manitoba has threatened to block railway lines running through his community on the day of action.  This is a welcome change and anyone that was making a claim under the old rules will be very happy.