What other papers are saying

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Canadians would never put themselves in the sorry company of nations that ignore international law and basic human rights. This isn't Iran, China or Guatemala, we tell ourselves smugly, this is a country with a conscience.

It's a conscience with some blind spots. There was barely a stir when the United Nations Human Rights Commission ruled the Canadian government had violated the Lubicon Lake Cree Band's rights under Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Lubicon Band began its fight for a promised reserve in northern Alberta in the summer of 1939. For decades the band has doggedly pursued the case through the courts, negotiations and an appeal for public support. The elders are still waiting for a reserve.

Alberta agreed to set aside a 246-square-kilometer reserve with full mineral rights in 1988, but the Lubicon claim is snagged on the amount of federal compensation. Premier Don Getty supports the band's contention Ottawa's offer is inadequate, but says the matter is "completely in the hands of the federal government."

The UN committee urged both sides to bargain again. But how? Federal Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon concedes the UN ruling highlights a "long-standing injustice," but his officials insist they've made their final offer. It isn't easy to negotiate with a brick wall.

And so the Lubicon Lake Cree wait as they have for half a century. Premier Betty waits. Albertans ashamed of the Lubicon stigma also wait.

Will it be another 50 years before this shameful episode is behind us?

Edmonton Journal/May 10, 1990

Native prisoners at Drumheller Institution make a good argument when they suggest some inmates should serve sentences in their own communities.

The Drumheller inmates outlined the idea to the Alberta task force on Native people and the justice system. They would like to see offenders paid minimum wages to work or go to school while serving time near home.

The most powerful force of rehabilitation is family pressure, Native Brotherhood leader Rick Yellowbird old the task force. If an offender could stay in his community, he could confront his problems with the help of people who care about him. His family wouldn't be torn apart, or deprived of income, by his incarceration.

The Drumheller prisoners' plan would work well for the large group of offenders who commit theft or property crimes, without violence, under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Addictions' problems are tackled better in the community, or at treatment centers, than in prison cells.

Native inmates make up 25 per cent of the prison population at Drumheller Institution, although people of aboriginal ancestry compose less than five per cent of Alberta's population.

The existing system is crying out for change and any alternative must be considered.

Canadians aren't accustomed to listening seriously to prison inmates. We certainly don't make a habit of taking their advice. Maybe it's time we started.

Edmonton Journal/14May 1990