Tory push of C-103 may be threat to Northern natives

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It may be spring time in Ottawa but it's definitely fall for the Natives in the north.

As flowers push their way up through the soil in Parliament Hill gardens, the federal Tories are busy pushing a piece of questionable legislation through the House of Commons and Aboriginals are losing out in a big way.

Bill C-103, the Land Titles Repeal Bill, is currently on the list for third and final reading in the House. This bill basically proposes to undo the existing federal Land Titles Act, which the territories are currently administering on Ottawa's behalf. The act provides a legal and administrative framework under which all land owners in the NEWT and Yukon may register their interests in land. Applications are examined and scrutinized for outstanding interests and accuracy, and then recorded. Very simple.

Bill C-103 proposes to repeal the federal act, thus allowing the territories to bring in their own legislation. Any territorial act would do much the same as the federal act did, but it's not that simple: C-103 has some other unnerving aspects.

For one, the bill proposes to give the territories power that should only be reserved for the provinces. As many northern Native leaders have pointed out, that sets a dangerous precedent for further "devolution" of federal powers.

For one, the bill proposes to give the territories power that should only be reserved for the provinces. As many northern Native leaders have pointed out, that sets a dangerous precedent for further "devolution" of federal powers.

Secondly, there is a clause in the bill that prohibits caveats from being registered against unpatented Crown land. That means bands would not be able to put a stop order on court proceedings should they disagree with a land claim dispute.

But the most disturbing aspect of C-103 has been the bill's stealthy passage through the House of Commons. Both the federal and territorial governments have said that Natives in the North were alerted to the bill and had plenty of time to be consulted. Ross Reid, Parliamentary Secretary to Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon, said Native groups were consulted by letter on two occasions. An NWT government spokesman wasn't sure exactly when those letters were sent, but he thought it might have been sometime in 1988.

Dene Nations Chief Bill Erasmus said the first time he heard about the bill was through an Indian Affairs press release in December, 1992. Needless to say, that didn't leave much time for consultation.

And when Native and federal officials finally got together to talk about protecting Aboriginal and treaty rights in the new act, no agreement could be reached. A non-derogation clause submitted by the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut was voted down by

a standing committee whose members were mostly Tory MPs.

The Conservatives later submitted their own non-derogation clause, but northern Natives turned it down because it was not comprehensive enough. In actual fact, there was not much difference between the two, certainly not enough to require the Tory veto. As a result, many northern Natives have taken the position that the government didn't want the protective clause in the bill. There's little evidence to suggest otherwise.

But protective clauses, standing committee votes and constant, aggressive lobbying by Native leaders cannot address the real problem. The Canadian government has no understanding of nor concern for Native issues. And while some hope lies in the Canadian population's newly-found awareness of Native issues, Ottawa still consistently sets the limits of public pressure by limiting what the public knows.

And the relatively silent passage of Bill C-103 indicates that Natives will continue to be at a disadvantage as long as Ottawa has no interest in dealing honestly with our people beyond the realm of the jury of public opinion.