Message To Harper & McGinty

Enforce the law when it comes to homegrown terrorism! It seems to be that there are people who support the indians and their unlawful actions because of past injustices perputrated by "ancestors." These are the same people who justify 9/11 because of US presence and policy in the middle east. Blizzard makes it clear that many of the delays in "land claims" is due to actions of the indians themselves.

Figure out our native land
By CHRISTINA BLIZZARD

There are dire predictions that this will be a long hot summer of confrontation as aboriginal groups ramp up blockades and protests to push for action on some of their long-stalled land claims.

June 29 is the designated day of action, and there are protests threatened across the country. Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine has called for speedy action on land claims in order to ease native anger.

Premier Dalton McGuinty mused recently that there needs to be a different process put in place to resolve land claims.

"We have heard a number of signals from the federal government when it comes to improving the process," McGuinty said before cabinet this week.

"We haven't seen much action. I know that there was a plan to bring something to the federal cabinet," he said.

The current system, said McGuinty, is "not in keeping with a just-in-time world and there are high expectations that are mounting every day within the aboriginal community right across the country, that I think in fairness we owe it to all Canadians to find a better process."

There's no sign of a new process so far, and it may be wrong to put all the blame for the slow resolution of claims totally on the system. Some people believe the system is working as it should.

Take, for example, the claim over the Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia. That stalled from 1995-2001 because an aboriginal group took the federal government to court over it. It is a policy of the federal government that you can't sue them and negotiate with them at the same time, so the negotiations broke off. That's why there was no progress on the claim at that time.

As far as the feds are concerned, there was a valid surrender of the land by the Six Nations in 1844. They're simply not negotiating over it any more. In an attempt to end the stand-off in the 40-hectare construction site that native activists are still occupying, federal officials have offered to discuss two other nearby land claims -- but the activists have refused.

Part of the problem is the number of people at the negotiating table. Between the Mohawk Confederacy, the so-called Clan Mothers, the group that is occupying the land and other splinter groups, federal negotiators find themselves talking to between 60-80 people.

How can you reach consensus when there are so many groups negotiating? And any native group may claim to own the land. That doesn't mean the claim is legitimate.

Meanwhile, random acts of violence are no way to resolve the issue. CN Rail has yet to put a dollar figure on the amount of money they lost in two blockades of their lines, but spokesman Mark Hallman said the value of commodities they move along that main line between Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa is $100 million a day.

Via Rail had to cancel 10-12 trains during one of the blockades, inconveniencing countless travellers on a route that makes up between 75-80% of their ridership. There was no train traffic whatsoever for a 15-hour period.

"We had no alternative," said Via spokesman Catherine Kaloutsky.

Look, no doubt there are some legitimate beefs about the slow progress of the aboriginal claims. It seems to me, though, that if we are going to streamline the process, the first thing an independent body needs to decide is which claims have merit and which don't. Then someone in the aboriginal community needs to decide who can speak on their behalf. You can't have dozens of disparate groups all claiming a part in the discussions.

It's not just road, rail and new construction that is in peril. Native groups are also demanding a say in where new power lines go and how we go about building new generating plants. You can't hold the economy of this province hostage in that fashion.

Native protesters should put forward one person or one group that is democratically elected and can speak with one voice for the aboriginal community.

This is, after all, Canada. We are governed by the rule of law, not by bandana-wearing activists. While we respect certain unique native rights, there is one law for all when it comes to criminal acts.

Anything else is not just unacceptable. It's un-Canadian.