Government committed to Native agenda: MP

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The federal government is committed to improving living conditions on Indian reserves and quickly settling land claims across the country, says an Edmonton Progressive Conservative MP.

At a town hall meeting in his Edmonton Strathcona riding Oct. 20, Scott Thorkelson outlined the government's agenda for Native people.

He said it will be based on aboriginal and treaty rights recognized in the Constitution and will have four main pillars: land claims; the relationship between aboriginal peoples and governments; the concerns of Canada's aboriginal peoples in contemporary Canadian life and the economic and social conditions on reserves.

"In the last four years our government has settled six land claims at the cost of about $1.3 billion. This is much better than in the last 15 years. (Prime Minister) Mulroney has made a commitment," he said.

Native rights activist Allen Welsh questioned the government's sincerity to speed up the agenda dealing with Native issues. "Native concerns are not only a Native problem but ours (Canadians). So let's get something done," he said.

Thorkelson said Mulroney intends to take three parallel initiatives to accelerate the settlement of specific claims; to honor legal undertakings regarding land transfers to treaty Indians "as much as a century ago;" and to accelerate negotiations on comprehensive claims, which until now have been limited to six at any one time.

Although the meeting was to deal more with Native land claims, many people wanted to know what the government was doing for Native people wanting sovereignty.

"At Oka, government spokesmen said repeatedly the Mohawks have no basis to sovereignty. I don't remember the six nations (Iroquois Confederacy) ceasing to be a sovereign nation.

"Aboriginal people are absolutely right. They didn't extinguish their rights by (signing a ) treaty," said National Firearms Association president David Tomlinson.

In his statement Mulroney said Native self-government does not now and cannot ever mean sovereign independence.

"Mohawk lands are part of Canadian territory and Canadian law must and does apply." he said.

Helen Gladue, a representative of the advisory council of treaty women, said to understand all the issues facing Native people especially the issue of sovereignty" would take a long time."

Meanwhile, Thorkelson said civil disobedience is an avenue for social change only if many people are in favor. "But at Oka there were a few militants leading many.

"I don't think it's a recourse in our system. Our system can address their (Mohawks) need and do it properly," he said.

"I think before Oka our government was addressing Indian claims more than in the past. The six land claims recently passed are historical and the process was starting to change. The government has done considerable achievements on aboriginal affairs," Thorkelson said.