Paddle vote still hasn't settle accord disagreements

Viewpoint

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The Federation of Metis Settlements and the provincial government may think they have won the latest round in the war of wills between itself and Paddle Prairie dissidents in their disagreement over the Alberta Settlements Accord.

Fifty-seven per cent of Paddle Prairie residents have rejected leaving the federation to negotiate a separate deal with the government in a Jan. 18 referendum.

But the issues which sparked this controversy have yet to be decided.

When the accord was signed last summer and supported by 78 per cent of residents in the eight different Metis settlements in Albert, the agreement supposedly settled a long-standing dispute between the federation -- which represents eight Metis settlements -- and the provincial government over Metis land rights and resources.

Despite that overwhelming support for the deal, however, six months later, there appears to be a core group of people who want the agreement changed.

The referendum in Paddle Prairie, where 118 of 208 residents voted to rescind a Paddle Prairie council decision to pull out of the federation, doesn't appear to have settled very much. 86 residents were opposed to continuing the agreement as it presently is written.

Originally, three of five members on the council voted to pull Paddle Prairie out of the federation over their belief that the federation council and the provincial government was ignoring its concerns over land entitlement, policy-making powers of individual settlements, and access to resource revenue.

The group wanted amendments made to Bills 64 and 65 that allows municipal self-government on the settlements. Neither the government nor the federation would budge.

The decision to pull out infuriated the two remaining Paddle Prairie councilors -- Mervin Bellerose and Joe Cardinal -- who refused to go along with the decision, and eventually forced last week's referendum on the issue.

Federation president Randy Hardy said during the controversy that it was time once again to go back to the people because the Paddle Prairie council had failed to consult the constituents they represented.

Well, the vote in Paddle is over and the people have been heard. But the 41 per cent who voted for a pullout and against the deal is a far cry from the 22 per cent of Alberta Metis who voted against the deal last June.

The discrepancy in opposition to the federation from the largest Metis settlement (who also have the largest land base) may be explained by the narrow parameters of the Jan. 18 referendum and the emotionalism riding with it.

Paddle Prairie residents were asked whether they wanted to leave the federation or not. But it's surprising that 41 per cent of residents said yes when the federation has touted the fact 78 per cent of all settlement residents are fully in favor of the accord.

It begs the question of whether the federation has considerable more support in the remaining seven settlements or whether public sentiment on the deal is shifting away from that 78 per cent vote recorded last June.

The latest vote, at least for Paddle Prairie residents, seems to more accurately reflect the community's strong concerns about the accord in the wake of last June's overwhelming endorsement.

Judging by the comments of Bellerose who was against a pullout, the provincial government and the Federation of Metis Settlements council will now have to address the issues that forced the referendum in the first place.

Bellerose says he wants to ensure there are concessions given to the 41 per cent of Paddle Prairie residents who voted for the pullout.

He says he will attempt to get the federation and the government to agree to allow individual settlements control over their land. Under the current agreement, the settlement council decides who gets what land for what purposes and a Metis Appeals Tribunal handles appeals of council decisions.

Lack of control by individual settlements over land was one of the main issues which forcedthe pullout in the first place.

The government says it will agree to the concessions if the federation approves.

However, neither the government nor the federation has yet to hear from the Paddle Prairie council as a whole since the five councilors haven't talked to each other since their split on the issue.

Meanwhile, a Paddle Prairie resident wants the Jan. 18 referendum declared illegal because it was improperly called.

And round and round we go.