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With his private members' bill to revive the Kelowna accord passing first reading in the House of Commons, former Prime Minister Paul Martin is confident that the Kelowna Accord will one day become the law of the land.

Martin spoke about Aboriginal issues on Jan. 17, after spending a day visiting Aboriginal high schools in Winnipeg with Liberal MPs Tina Keeper and Anita Neville.

"I was incredibly encouraged by seeing young Aboriginal people working to make better futures for themselves and their families," Martin said.

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The Alberta Court of Appeal has overturned a lower court decision that would have stopped a land claim covering the southeast part of the city of Edmonton dead in its tracks.

Lawyers for the descendants of Chief Papaschase and others with ties to his community were in court on Sept. 7 looking for their day in court.

That's because lower court Justice Frans F. Slatter had issued a summary judgment on the facts of their case, essentially ruling their claim did not even merit a trial.

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A significant moment in the legal history of First Nations' people passed with barely any notice over the holiday season. The latest step in the now 17-year-old epic court battle launched in 1989 by two Alberta First Nations came and went with little fanfare.

On Dec. 28, a three-judge Federal Court of Appeal panel dismissed, in a two-to-one ruling, the Samson Cree and Ermineskin Cree First Nations' appeals of trial judge Justice Max Teitelbaum's Nov. 30. 2005 decision.

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The Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Dec. 15 that McDiarmid Lumber Ltd. of Winnipeg had the right to garnishee funds in a First Nation's off-reserve bank account.

After the God's Lake First Nation (Manitoba) fell into arrears with the lumber company, McDiarmid successfully sued the band for payment in 2003. Even though the parties worked out a repayment plan, the band was unable to pay. McDiarmid then initiated court proceedings to seize money in God's Lake's account at the Winnipeg branch of Peace Hills Trust, a move the band attempted to block.

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The writing was on the wall in the words of Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench Justice Dennis Ball who rendered his decision on the Ile-a-la-Crosse residential school on Dec. 15, but it was Jan. 18 before Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice made it official. Metis students who attended the school will not be part of the Indian residential school compensation agreement.

Prentice made the announcement despite campaign promises to the contrary made in a radio ad last year by then Conservative prime ministerial hopeful Stephen Harper.

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The Attorney General of Canada has challenged part of a Saskatchewan court's approval of the residential schools compensation agreement.

In the three-page notice of appeal filed on Jan. 15, the federal government challenged a decision reached by Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench Justice Dennis Ball regarding payment of legal fees to the Regina-based Merchant Law Group (MLG).

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Chief asks, "Where did the honour go?"

Dear Editor,

This is in regards to the article on the comments of [Congress of Aboriginal Peoples' leader] Patrick Brazeau. (Windspeaker, Dec. 2006 edition)

I believe the current Indian Act chiefs are not at all holding onto power and refusing to let go of the Indian Act. In my case, I refused the First Nations Governance Act because it was more of the same. The reserves were not to be increased or set aside; the treaties were not to be eliminated. It was somewhat like Kelowna, expecting success out of nothing.

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Apology is required - and right now

Something stinks about the fact that the Stephen Harper government does not want to apologize for the residential school system. We try hard to give the Conservatives the benefit of the doubt, but it doesn't add up.

A Canadian Prime Minister has apologized to other groups on the receiving end of destructive government policies over the years: the Japanese Canadians interned in camps during the Second World War, the Chinese Canadians who were charged a discriminatory head tax.

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The 43rd annual Battleford's Indian and Metis Friendship Centres's All Native Hockey Tournament is scheduled to take to the ice of the North Battleford Civic Centre from April 6 to 8.

All tournament participants must prove their Native ancestry before being allowed to compete in the tournament, which over the years has become known as the Native Stanley Cup.

Jackie Kennedy, executive director of the friendship centre, is responsible for organizing this year's tournament. She believes there's a simple reason for the event's longevity.

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Former National Hockey League (NHL) star Reggie Leach will once again be the feature attraction at an upcoming Regina-based Native hockey tournament.

The tournament will take place April 13 to 15. Simply dubbed the Oskana Cup last year during its inaugural running, the tournament is now officially called the Oskana Cup-Reggie Leach Hockey Challenge.

"I really enjoyed myself up there last year," Leach told Saskatchewan Sage during a telephone interview from his home in Newark, Delaware. "The people there in Regina were great to me."