Province backs out of deal

Page 3

The Government of Alberta has officially withdrawn from an agreement between Chief Bernard Ominayak of the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation and former Premier Don Getty.

Alberta's withdrawal from the 1988 Grimshaw Accord was announced in Grande Prairie in early October by Mike Cardinal, minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs.

In the accord, Getty committed the Province of Alberta to transferring up to 246 sq. km (95 sq. miles) of land traditionally claimed by the Lubicon to federal jurisdiction if requested to do so. By virtue of right under constitutional land transfer obligations 204 sq. km (79 sq. miles) was to be transferred, and the other 42 sq. km (16 square miles) was available in order to reach agreement.

The accord excluded subsurface rights on the 42 sq. km portion, specified that these would not be exercised without surface access permission from Lubicon, and committed the Lubicon members not to seek an expanded land settlement later.

The package was ratified by the Lubicon membership and a written agreement was later finalized.

"Right now, none of this is on the table. It is back to square one, generally," Cardinal said in his statement.

Cardinal based his announcement on changes in the size of the Lubicon Lake band.

"The Grimshaw agreement was based on a population of 474 people, but since then one group had a land settlement and now there's another breakaway portion that's looking at being recognized as a separate band."

The Lubicon Lake Indian Nation responded to Windspeaker through their advisor, Fred Lennarson.

"The province is misrepresenting the issue in three major ways. First, The Grimshaw Accord was not an offer, it was an agreement. Second, the agreement was not based on band size, it began when Mr. Getty specifically suggested putting the question of numbers aside and agreeing as two honorable men to an amount of land that would be fair. Finally, the notion of an exodus of band members is false," Lennarson said.

He argued that the three new bands, used as evidence of a reduction in band size, do not, in fact, represent any large reductions at all.

"The Woodland Cree Band was put together by the federal government by including some traditional Lubicons, some people added to the Lubicon band list since Grimshaw under C-31, and several people from a variety of other bands or towns nearby. The Loon River Band is a traditional band that has been seeking recognition since the 1930's and has always included some people also on the Lubicon list. The new group that calls itself the Little Buffalo Cree is not a band at all, but simply a family group that has been unable to get elected to band council and now wants a separate seat in negotiations."

Billy Joe Laboucan, who heads the Little Buffalo Cree, counters this last claim.

"As Cree society grows there have always been divisions of bands and this is an example of that traditional process at work."

On the issue of Alberta's new position, Laboucan said. "We have no influence on how provincial and federal governments think. We're just seeking a fair and equitable settlement for the people here that Bernard Ominayak no longer represents."

On the larger issue of band size Lennarson said the Lubicon band list is about the same size as it was at the time of the Grimshaw Accord.

He also argues that the brands who signed Treaty No. 8 each determined their own membership, and states that the Lubicon insist on the same treatment.

Lennarson concluded that the province's new position is an attempt to influence federal-Lubicon negotiations where Alberta has no role.

"Their action begs the question, 'Can they get away with it?'" said Lennarson. "If they can, then it will be a serious setback to the negotiations and to the Lubicon people. It would push everything back to before Grimshaw."