Enoch got tired of screaming

Page 4

The $450 million lawsuit launched recently by Enoch Nation against the federal government brings to mind a young newspaper carrier, who got up at 5:30 every morning to do his route.

After fishing an hour later, he would sit down to a nice family breakfast. Every week or so after he collected his money, he gave it to his father, who insisted on keeping it for him. But the paper carrier thought the money should be put in a bank.

The young boy worked from the fall through winter and into early summer until the annual family summer holiday when he decided to ask his father for the remainder of his paper-route money. He had been asking for a little money from time to time to buy things like a new hockey stick or some comics (which he felt his dad should have bought), but never more than that.

When summer came and he asked for the rest, he got much less than he remembered giving to his father. At first he just said, "Uh, Dad, I had a little more than this" - which his father promptly denied. The protests grew louder with each denial, until finally the two were yelling at each other.

This is very similar to the current battle between the Enoch Cree Nation and Indian Affairs, which has behaved rather paternalistically towards all Indian bands like Enoch which earn resource revenue.

Ottawa has taken the 'Father knows best' attitude deciding it and it alone knows how to invest band money and how it should be spent.

Fed up with that rather outdated attitude. Enoch Nation launched a lawsuit this month against Ottawa alleging its resource revenues had been mismanaged and that reserve land had been wrongfully taken.

The Cree Nation lawsuit asks for $400 million in lost revenue and $50 million as compensation for land they were forced to give up. Ultimately Chief Jerome Morin and his band would also like to manage their own oil and gas resources and royalties.

As usual the main problem is the Ottawa-written Indian Act which requires the federal government to hold in trust resource revenues from reserves as well as to manage the oil and gas on those lands.

Indian nations are allowed to sit in the driver's seat but they're not allowed to touch the steering wheel or the gas pedal -- much less the brakes.

The Samson Band of Hobbema reserve wants to remedy this. They will shortly commence a lawsuit demanding separate management of its trust fund. The band has already filed one lawsuit - it's similar to the Enoch suit - seeking compensation for poorly managed oil and gas resource revenues.

A six-year-old confidential memo by former Indian affairs' minister David Crombie predicted this would happen! Six years! That's a long time. Crombie, in his wisdom, foresaw the government would be seen as bumbling, ignorant, uncaring investor. It isn't surprising the Crombie didn't last long as Indian affairs' minister before being shuffled.

"The trust accounts do not have returns which an informed and prudent trustee should be able to earn," his memorandum read. This supports Morin's claim the government has cost them virtually hundreds of millions of dollars because of the scanty returns - about 10 per cent - on their trust money which could other wise earn 16-17 per cent interest.

It's sad Indian affairs is the trustee for resource revenues from all Canadian reserves, because the department does not invest monies like a business broker. Instead it shovels oil, gas and mineral revenue into government accounts to gather interest at low rates set by the government.

The government also forces bands like Enoch to pay for their own community services through the trust fund. Enoch gets a piddly $1 million a year from the government to cover services for the reserve's population of 1,200 people. It's understandable reserves seem to have only dirt roads.

Then there is the matter of 6,400 acres of Enoch reserve land surrendered under duress. The federal government threatened to withhold food and services unless the reserve gave it the land. Tht prime land, between Enoch reserve and Highway 16, is now part of Edmonton and a number of oil pumps nod their heads on that land. The reason for Ottawa's land grab is now clear.

Oh, and what happened to the paper carrier?

Well, most kids would have given up, but this boy had smarts..

The cagey little tyke had socked away some of his paper-route money and took his dad to small claims' court. He won.