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Dene Nation chief Bill Erasmus has called for the removal of the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

He filed a formal complaint with the Canadian Judicial Council on Feb. 18, 10 days after Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin used the term "conquered people" during a speech to the Order of Canada luncheon at the Canadian Club of Vancouver.

The remarks also prompted an expression of concern on Feb. 8 from the National Chief Matthew Coon Come.

Page 11

While some British Columbia First Nations are hailing the victory of the Taku River Tlingit in the B.C. Court of Appeal as an affirmation of Aboriginal title and rights, the mining company that wants to develop a sensitive watershed area on Tlingit territory says it is a narrowly defined win of little significance and the company is prepared to appeal.

Both the company and the province face continued opposition from B.C. Native groups, environmental organizations and possibly the State of Alaska.

Page 10

Ken Deane has appealed police adjudicator Loyall Cann's decision that he must resign or be dismissed from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) for discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act.

"We can't fire him now," OPP Superintendent Rick Kotwa said. "He has a right to appeal and we have to follow the process."

The appeal will eventually be heard by the Ontario Civilian Commission of Police Services, but no date has been set, said Margo Boyd, a senior investigator.

Page 10

The recently departed premier of Ontario, Mike Harris, filed a statement of claim alleging libel against Bell Globemedia Publishing, Inc., the corporate owner of the Globe and Mail on Feb. 15.

Harris is asking the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to award him $15 million in damages, saying five sentences in a Dec. 14 story contained "false and defamatory" information.

Page 10

A number of Aboriginal leaders have come together to repeat their call for action against a Quebec Superior Court Judge who they claim discriminated against an Aboriginal women during his handling of a case to decide custody of her twin daughters.

The complaints against Judge Frank Barakett were lodged in October 2000 by the Assembly of First Nations, the Quebec Native Women's Association, Listuguj Mi'gmaq First Nations Government, the Native Women's Association of Canada, and the Secretariat of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador.

Page 9

Quebec Crees have approved one of the most lucrative development agreements ever signed by an Indigenous group, but a painful debate over the deal has left bitter feelings in the nine far-flung communities of James Bay.

Crees voted to accept the landmark $3.4-billion deal with Quebec in a series of referendums that has left lingering questions about a mediocre turnout and how the voting was organized.

Page 8

A two-day gathering of chiefs that is not an officially-sanctioned Assembly of First Nations meeting has an agenda that could drive a permanent wedge between warring First Nations factions.

The agenda includes a lengthy leadership forum and the announcement of a "First Nations declaration" and "the presentation of a First Nations political agenda."

AFN sources say they've heard of the meeting, but haven't been involved in its planning. National Chief Matthew Coon Come is mentioned on the agenda as an invited, but unconfirmed speaker.

Page 6

National Chief Matthew Coon Come has been saying for a long time that the way the Canadian public views spending on Aboriginal people has been skewed by political spinning and racist attitudes.

A report issued recently by the national chief's staff uses government numbers to make the case for that claim.

The Assembly of First Nations fact sheet, entitled The First Nations and Public Administration Expenditures, presents the numbers in what the AFN considers is a global context.

Page 6

It's a plaintive cry of the political right in Canada that has become a familiar mantra in the mainstream national media and elsewhere in the country.

They bleat, $7 billion each year is "spent on Indians," with the unspoken message that it's too much and something must be done and soon.

Never is a word written about exactly how much of that money gets chewed up by the bureaucracy or in other corners of government. Maybe that's because it's a hard thing to find out. The Canadian government is not exactly eager to share certain information with the public.

Page 5

Little notice has been taken of the fact that the terrorist attack of Sept. 11 was apparently carried out by right-wing fanatics representing an ultra-conservative, reactionary, and patriarchal ideology. If we are to believe the information that we are receiving from the U.S. government, the attackers were of Muslim background belonging to extremely "fundamentalist" factions with ties to extremist groups in the Islamic world.