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Canada's Shame!

 
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:45 am    Post subject: Canada's Shame! Reply with quote

Canada's Shame!


By Maurice Ali, Journalist



A Lubicon Protest - Photo courtesy of AMMSA.

Perhaps you have heard some political ads referring to the plight of the Lubicon Indian Nation in Canada. We seem to forget that there were people who were living in Canada before any of us "Canadians" arrived. Presently, the Lubicon are lobbying the Federal Government of Canada to honor it's commitment to sign an agreement with the Lubicon to right the wrongs of the destruction of the Lubicon way of life.

Who are these peoples are called the Lubicon? These American Indians have lived peacefully on the shores of Lake Lubicon and were so isolated that this group was never included in the historic Treaty 8 signed by the other Indians and to this day have never signed any formal treaty with the Canadian government. The Lubicon are a group of approximately 500 people who live on 10,00 square kilos of land in northern Alberta. This group of people continued to live their traditional lifestyle until oil interests and a paper mill encroached on their land. The use of Lubicon land by resource mining corporations has meant the loss of indigenous wildlife and the resultant loss of the Lubicon way of life. The Lubicon were forced to live on welfare and as a result have lost the pride ans self-sufficiency and culture of their people.

Without getting too involved in the long battle of the Lubicon and the governments and corporations "raping" the Lubicon's territory; I should mention that many third party interests have made comment on this Canadian problem. One was by Amnesty International scolding Canada's government for ignoring their restitution to the Lubicon Nation (letter posted at end of article). The United Nations published a scathing report on the treatment of the Lubicon Nation People, all of which received little publicity in the Canadian media (a section of the report is reproduced at the end of this article). The Lubicon themselves have been actively fighting for their rights. From battling subterfuge from outside forces to disband the Nation to the declaration of the Lubicon territory as a sovereign nation (and issuing passports, etc.); the Lubicon have sued the government and corporate interests in their fight for survival. Friends Of The Lubicon have staged successful boycotts of corporations that encroached on Lubicon land. Even an Indian exhibition at the Calgary Winter Games was affected by museums refusing to submit artifacts due to the treatment of the Lubicon.

News to you? That is why fortressoffreedom.com brings this situation to the forefront of our organization. We who live in Canada - are Canada; and the Lubicon deserve reimbursement for the loss of their way of life. When you look at the price of of buying you dream home; remember that the American Indians were here first and the Lubicon - who never signed any treaties - deserve fair value for the destruction of their land and culture.



Amnesty International wrote:
Summary of critical recommendations - "Amnesty International Canada - Human Rights Issues


The time is now for Canada to demonstrate leadership in the defense of human rights. Canada has played a leadership role in the past, for example, in its contribution to the establishment of the International Criminal Court. Canada must continue to play that role through uncompromising commitment to fundamental human rights -- at home and abroad.

The 2003 edition of Amnesty International�s Human Rights Agenda for Canada looks at some of the most urgent measures the government must take to ensure that all people in Canada can enjoy their rights without persecution or discrimination.

These measures, many recommended by United Nations human rights bodies, are also necessary to ensure Canada's continued credibility as an advocate for human rights on the world stage.

Our human rights agenda for Canada also highlights concrete actions Canada must take to protect people whose lives are in danger in other countries -- especially those who come to Canada seeking protection and those whose lives are impacted by Canadian policies in trade and international relations.

Finally, our agenda recommends steps Canada must take to ensure effective international mechanisms for the protection of human rights -- at a time when the United Nations human rights system is at a crossroads.





The United Nation's Report On the Lubacon's claim against the Government of Canada wrote:

Summary Of The United Nations Decision On The Lubicon/Canadian Government Relationship

The substance of the decision is found on pages 28 and 29 (paragraphs 31.1 - 33), in which the Committee: reconfirms the earlier decision that the Lubicon people can't achieve effective legal redress within Canada; ducks the issue of whether the Lubicons are a people entitled to the right of self-determination as "not an issue for the Committee to address under the Optional Protocol"; broadens the cultural, religious and linguistic rights protected under article 27 so as "to include the rights of persons, in community with others, to engage in economic and social activities which are part of the culture of the community to which they belong"; simplifies the issues involved by dismissing complaints under other articles of the Covenant as insufficiently well substantiated, subsumed under article 27 and / or "an abuse of the right of submission within the meaning of article 3 of the Optional Protocol". ("With respect to provisions other than article 27", the Swedish representative wrote, the ... allegations ...(are)... of such a sweeping nature that the Committee has not been able to take them into account except in so far as they may be subsumed under .... article 27". Article 3 of the Optional Protocol says simply that "The Committee shall consider as inadmissible any communication ... which it concludes to be an abuse of the right of submission"); finds Canada in violation of article 27 so long as "historical inequities... certain more recent developments (continue) to threaten the way o life and culture of the Lubicon people"; finds that the Canadian Government "proposes to rectify the situation with a remedy that the Committee deems appropriate within the meaning of article 2 of the Covenant" (Article 2 of the Covenant says basically that each party to the Covenant undertakes to respect and ensure the rights of all people within its territory.

The finding that Canada is in continuing violation of article 27 is of course
a far more clear-cut finding than the finding that Canada "proposes to rectify the situation with a remedy that the Committee deems appropriate..." Asked by reporters to clarify this later part of the decision, Committee officials were quoted as saying that "the wording was left deliberately vague so that both parties can interpret it their own way and get back to the table."

So far Canadian Government officials have publicly interpreted the
"deliberately vague" wording of the decision as "a victory for Canada", and as "support for Canada's (take-it-or-leave-it-offer) offer". Given that
interpretation, Canadian Government officials have reaffirmed that the so-called offer won't be changed. Such an interpretation provides little hope for further negotiations, since even Alberta Provincial Premier Getty agrees that the so-called offer is seriously deficient in the essential area of economic development, and since the Lubicon people have made clear that they're not prepared to settle for a future on Government provided welfare.

A more reasonable interpretation, especially in light of the finding that
there will be a continuing violation of article 27 until the matter is settled,
and also in light of the stated Committee objective of encouraging the parties to return to the negotiating table, is that the Committee supports claimed Canadian Government efforts to resolve the question of Lubicon land rights through a negotiated settlement.
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