Aboriginal rights focus of CBA committee

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Recognition of legal issues affecting Canada's Aboriginal people will be the focus of a new committee established by the Canadian Bar Association (CBA).

At a recent meeting held in Edmonton, the newly elected president of the CBA, Bryan Williams, in his first address to the Association titled "Equal Justice for Native People," said "Canadian history knows that there is much in our heritage to make us proud to be Canadians. But for Native people, the first nations of this country, there is much in that history to cause sadness and despair...One measure of how a nation treats it's Aboriginal people. By that, and by any measure, we in Canada should be doing better."

Williams went on to say that if Canadians are not willing to correct some of the fundamental mistakes made over land claims, self-government and other major issues affecting Native people that "Native people will be forced to demonstrate - as they have on occasion recently (Lyall Island, South Morseby) - and that they will pursue justice in their own way."

The new committee under the working name of "Special Committee on Rights and Positions on Aboriginal People"has a two-year mandate. Ten members from a number of universities, private lawyers and government officials will make up the committee, which is to be headed by Dr. Andrew Thompson. Dr. Thompson is a legal environmental specialist who teaches at the University of British Columbia.

Highly regarded in the Native and legal community, Dr. Thompson was selected last year to mediate a dispute between the Canadian National Railways and the Alliance

of Tribal Nations in B.C. He has also represented the Metis Association of the Northwest Territories in the Paulet case.

Although a full committee has yet to be chosen, a preliminary list of potential candidates for the committee has been drawn up, those included for consideration are: Carol Berewer, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (DINA), Hull, Quebec; Roger Carter, Director of Research Native Law Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Ron Doering, chief of staff to the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, Ottawa; David Hawkes, Queens University, Kingston; Roberta Jaimeson, Ontario Indian Commission, Toronto; Roger Jones, Spanish Forks Band Lawyer; Brad Morse, University of Ottawa; James O'Reilly, lawyer for the Lubicon Band; and Stan Stevens, Law Professor, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

Stevens, an Algonquin from Ontario, was contacted to consult on names of individuals who would be contacted to sit on the committee. Stevens says that the final selection of committee members will be made very carefully so as to give the community credibility in both the Native and non-Native community. He also adds that regional representation is a major concern.

The task of the committee is to look at the issues facing Native people in regard to land claims, self-government, and other legal problems. It will also act as an educational vehicle for Canadian lawyers and other Canadians who are not aware of the complex legal issues which the Aboriginal people of Canada are faced with. Williams says that the Committee has been commissioned to research and study the various issues and to return to the CBA with recommendations on how the CBA may ameliorate the problem.

The committee has been set up in two categories, a research component which will be headed by Roger Carter, director of research at the Native Law Centre in Saskatoon. This portion of the committee will research and collect information to be considered by the committee. The second part of the committee will review the research and make recommendations thereof.

The committee will hold its first meeting in November to determine what direction it should take and what issues should be priority and which are not.