Band must negotiate: Siddon

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A solution to logging and oil companies shut out of land claimed by the Lubicon Lake Indian band in northern Alberta may not be found unless the band is prepared to negotiate on the advice put forward by the government, says Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon.

"I hope the chief and council will be prepared to sit down and hopefully we'll be able to negotiate an agreement. Meanwhile, I can't speculate how Long it'll take," said Siddon at a recent news conference in Nisku.

Siddon said there'll be no early end to the 50-year-old land claim dispute unless the Lubicons are willing to come to the bargaining table on the conditions set by the government.

The Lubicons have said they will not allow logging or other development activity on land they claim as their traditional hunting ground.

Siddon said the Lubicons' demand is "vastly in excess of what the government feels is justified in the case."

Siddon backed his comment by citing a case Lubicon Chief Bernard Ominayak presented t the United Nations human rights committee, which concluded "the federal offer was an appropriate remedy."

The UN committee also said Canada was violating international human rights conventions in its treatment of the band.

The federal government is offering $45 million. The band wants a $167 million settlement and a 246-square-kilometre reserve.