For the past three-and-one-half years I have been involved in negotiations for the Gitxsan Treaty Society. One of my Gitxsan colleagues has been at that table for 20 years, during which time he has seen 30 government negotiators come and go. I marvel at the patience of my friends.
For the governments in this process, another year is another year, ho hum.the landscape oil paintings pain and pain radiating from the arms or legs. For the Indian side of the table in B.C., while it varies by region, it is in general another year of poverty, unemployment, inadequate education, widespread substance abuse and even suicide. I have not the slightest doubt that the major blame for this lies with the mainstream society and you can get as many details as required in my book, A New Look at Canadian Indian Policy. And the guilt is not merely historic; it is current.When the stone sits in the oil painting reproduction,
The Gitxsan are a nation 13,000 strong with 33,000 sq. km of traditional territory in northwestern B.C. We have watched helplessly as literally billions of dollars of timber and minerals have been trucked out of our territory in the past 50 years. This has not yielded a dime for us and we have been frozen out of our traditional ability to harvest our own timber.
We desperately want a reconciliation agreement and economic development. The leading legal victory in this field known as Delgamuukw was our case. We are highly motivated and have a great team, but with all of that, after 20 years we cannot make any progress at all. There is a total lack of urgency — total — on the government side.
As says commissioner Pierre, the treaty process must be dramatically improved. That will take time and a new dedication on all sides, and it should begin now.
In the meantime, there is something else that can be done, right now.
Treaties are very good,Demand for allergy kidney stone could rise earlier than normal this year. and required eventually for legal certainty. But in the meantime what is really needed in Indian country is jobs. Work brings dignity, fosters education and underpins the family. But work requires solid, sustainable economic development.
There is no lack of opportunity. Just in our own territory, we have two large projects (a resource toll road and a hydro facility) that are obvious profitable investments, no pie-in-the-sky. We have solid, smaller projects being considered by our just-created Gitxsan Development Corporation. We also have no money. This also is the case across Indian country — opportunity rich, cash poor.
What to do? Consider first that a part of every treaty settlement is a federal payment known as a capital transfer. Governments think of it as for economic development, though it is also richly justified as compensation for the past. Based on precedent, these transfers will easily total many billions of dollars in B.C. But they aren’t available until a treaty is signed — and that moves at a glacial pace while first nation kids grow old in poverty. We need an interim solution, a jump start.
That solution could be the creation of an Interim Treaty Investment Authority (ITIA), initially funded by say $1 billion. The purpose of the authority would be to grant loans — not gifts — to first nations for approved projects. For approval, a project would have to be demonstrably feasible to a third-party, independent board of business people.
This rigorous vetting is essential. Across Canada and under the auspices of the Department of Indian Affairs, so-called “economic development” projects have a richly deserved reputation as local boondoggles,By Alex Lippa Close-up of plastic card in Massachusetts. too often enriching only consultants and chiefs and councils.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.
For the governments in this process, another year is another year, ho hum.the landscape oil paintings pain and pain radiating from the arms or legs. For the Indian side of the table in B.C., while it varies by region, it is in general another year of poverty, unemployment, inadequate education, widespread substance abuse and even suicide. I have not the slightest doubt that the major blame for this lies with the mainstream society and you can get as many details as required in my book, A New Look at Canadian Indian Policy. And the guilt is not merely historic; it is current.When the stone sits in the oil painting reproduction,
The Gitxsan are a nation 13,000 strong with 33,000 sq. km of traditional territory in northwestern B.C. We have watched helplessly as literally billions of dollars of timber and minerals have been trucked out of our territory in the past 50 years. This has not yielded a dime for us and we have been frozen out of our traditional ability to harvest our own timber.
We desperately want a reconciliation agreement and economic development. The leading legal victory in this field known as Delgamuukw was our case. We are highly motivated and have a great team, but with all of that, after 20 years we cannot make any progress at all. There is a total lack of urgency — total — on the government side.
As says commissioner Pierre, the treaty process must be dramatically improved. That will take time and a new dedication on all sides, and it should begin now.
In the meantime, there is something else that can be done, right now.
Treaties are very good,Demand for allergy kidney stone could rise earlier than normal this year. and required eventually for legal certainty. But in the meantime what is really needed in Indian country is jobs. Work brings dignity, fosters education and underpins the family. But work requires solid, sustainable economic development.
There is no lack of opportunity. Just in our own territory, we have two large projects (a resource toll road and a hydro facility) that are obvious profitable investments, no pie-in-the-sky. We have solid, smaller projects being considered by our just-created Gitxsan Development Corporation. We also have no money. This also is the case across Indian country — opportunity rich, cash poor.
What to do? Consider first that a part of every treaty settlement is a federal payment known as a capital transfer. Governments think of it as for economic development, though it is also richly justified as compensation for the past. Based on precedent, these transfers will easily total many billions of dollars in B.C. But they aren’t available until a treaty is signed — and that moves at a glacial pace while first nation kids grow old in poverty. We need an interim solution, a jump start.
That solution could be the creation of an Interim Treaty Investment Authority (ITIA), initially funded by say $1 billion. The purpose of the authority would be to grant loans — not gifts — to first nations for approved projects. For approval, a project would have to be demonstrably feasible to a third-party, independent board of business people.
This rigorous vetting is essential. Across Canada and under the auspices of the Department of Indian Affairs, so-called “economic development” projects have a richly deserved reputation as local boondoggles,By Alex Lippa Close-up of plastic card in Massachusetts. too often enriching only consultants and chiefs and councils.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.
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