Introduction | The Present Debate | The Nisga’a Treaty | Conclusion

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Nisga’a Tribal Council Presentation to Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

[ 11/4/99 ]

THE PRESENT DEBATE

We have come to Ottawa many times over the years, and in particular over the course of the last ten months. We have met with Members of Parliament and Senators, with cabinet ministers and parliamentary interns. We have participated in seminars and news conferences. And we have listened to the current debate since its commencement.

The first and most important thing to say about this debate is that we acknowledge and appreciate the overwhelming support for the Nisga'a Treaty from members of four of the five parties represented in the House of Commons. While we noted the somewhat cynical explanation for this support suggested by the Leader of the Official Opposition in his speech to the House on October 26, 1999, we think that the support from political parties as diverse as the Liberals, the Bloc Quebecois, the New Democratic Party and the Progressive Conservatives vindicates our view that the Nisga'a Treaty is truly a non-partisan issue, one that rises above the ordinary back and forth of every day politics, and shows the world that the people and governments of Canada know how to achieve a fair and reasonable accommodation with aboriginal people.

We also acknowledge that in our parliamentary system there is an important place for opposition and debate, and that it is the right of the Official Opposition to oppose government initiatives. And so we came willing to participate in that debate.

However, we must also say that our observation of the debate has led us to realize that there seems to be not one treaty under debate, but two.

The first is the Treaty that we negotiated and that our people and Her Majesty in right of British Columbia have ratified. It is the Treaty that has been tabled before Parliament and which the passage of Bill C-9 will ratify. It is the Treaty referred to by the Government and the three opposition parties other than the Official Opposition.

The other is a "make believe treaty", one that we never sought and would not accept if it were offered to us. It is the Treaty described by the Official Opposition, the British Columbia Liberal Party, and a variety of editorialists and other individuals.

What are the contents of the "make believe treaty"? It can be briefly described, in no particular order, as follows:

The "make believe treaty":

undermines the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
violates the equality of aboriginal women;
perpetuates the Indian Act;
denies Nisga'a citizens individual private property;
creates racial "enclaves" within Canada;
disenfranchises non-Nisga'a;
allows Nisga'a Government to impose taxation without representation;
creates an exclusive Nisga'a commercial fishery;
fails to protect aboriginal rights of neighbouring First Nations;
is overly generous to the Nisga'a Nation;
is "entrenched in constitutional concrete";
alters the Constitution of Canada;
and is a "blueprint" or "template" for other treaties in British Columbia and across Canada.

The Nisga'a Treaty, the real Nisga'a Treaty, does not do any of these things. But the constant invoking of the "make believe treaty" has resulted in a situation in which some members of the public, while genuinely wanting governments to do the right thing, are concerned about the Nisga'a Treaty, not because of what is in it, but because of the inaccurate statements about its contents. The above list is not an exhaustive list of inaccurate statements concerning our treaty, but it includes the allegations most frequently made.

The best way to learn what the Nisga'a Treaty does do is, of course, to read it. In addition there are numerous summaries available from the three parties, as well as academic articles.

As this Committee carries on with its deliberations, it will be necessary for you always to consider whether witnesses and members are describing the actual Nisga'a Treaty, or the "make believe treaty". A reasonable test is to ask the person to specify the paragraph or paragraphs that they are referring to when they make assertions about the Treaty's contents.

We also believe that you will find, as we have, that the more informed individuals are about the real contents of the Nisga'a Treaty, the more likely they are to support it.

The purpose of this submission is not to present a detailed description of the contents of the Nisga'a Treaty. The federal government witnesses have already done this, and the Committee has the Treaty before it. We do think that it is appropriate to refer briefly to the matters listed above, in order to show the differences between the Nisga'a Treaty and the "make believe treaty".

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