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“The great themes of Canada are as follows: Keeping the Americans out, keeping the French in, and trying to get the Natives to somehow disappear.” – Will Ferguson, humorist and 2012 Giller Prize winner
Ferguson’s acerbic quote also summarizes the great unfinished business of Canada which is to reconcile the rights and create a role for the country’s 614 First Nations and their 700,000 members. The failure to have done this after centuries not only impedes national economic development, but is at the root of much of the misery and squalor on and off reserves.
The United States did not make deals, but conquered its Native Americans and, under international law, has only been required to compensate them. But here, Britain signed sovereign deals with aboriginals, catapulting them under international law to the rights and privileges of nation-states. Thus they call themselves First Nations. Australia has a similar history, but, unlike here, Canberra has fully addressed the issues.
Canada must now do the same. A recent, landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling has fully, and radically, defined “aboriginal rights.” Justices unanimously decided that lands in the British Columbia interior, the size of Greater Vancouver, belonged to the Tsilhqot’in Nation, a band with 400 members. They now own and must manage the lands in perpetuity, rights they can relinquish only if they sign ownership over to a government.
In general terms, this gives First Nations collectively a virtual veto over development of any kind across most of Canada. But there’s still the issue of which band owns and controls what lands. The Australians also figured that out.
In 1979, an aboriginal named Paul Coe filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the entire country of Australia. His lawsuit was a watershed, and, even though unsuccessful, led to other High Court cases that forced major reforms. By 1993, the Native Title act was passed and hundreds of land-use agreements have been negotiated since.
What helped is that Australia has a hybrid-British and American constitution that includes an elected Senate that fairly represents regional interests. This allowed Canberra to establish consensus and legislate a process to expeditiously verify, evaluate and adjudicate claims. The National Native Title Tribunal establishes the validity of claims and determines what lands, rights and/or compensation should be awarded. This process has, in essence, enfranchised the 517,200 Australians of aboriginal extraction by giving them their day in court. It also informs industry as to who owns or leases what and at what royalty.
For the rest of this column, click here: http://business.financialpost.com/2014/11/29/canadas-unfinished-business-with-first-nations-is-an-economic-failure/