[Indigsol] Dominion article on INAC interventions in Barrier Lake

[Ramsey Hart]

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/2560
*Minister's Memo Exposes Motives for Removing Algonquin Chief

INAC expected collaboration with new Chief but feared legal repercussions
and perception of government sponsorship

by Martin Lukacs

The Dominion - http://www.dominionpaper.ca
*
A secret document obtained by The Dominion reveals Indian and Northern
Affairs Canada (INAC) decided to replace the leadership of Barriere Lake
First Nation, which officials considered "dogmatized," with a chief and
council offering “improved collaboration."

The memo sent to Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl recommends recognizing
leadership claimant Casey Ratt in place of Chief Benjamin Nottaway, but
predicts such a move will lead to community violence, erection of
barricades, legal challenges and "media pressure" based on the "perception
of a council sponsored by INAC.”

Strahl signed off on the memo on March 3, 2008. In an April letter to the
Ottawa Citizen he maintains that INAC was following the wishes of the
community and was not "backing one group over another."

Ratt's ascent to power in the northern Quebec Algonquin community of 450 has
been fiercely contested by Nottaway's supporters, who allege INAC ousted an
assertive leadership and empowered a group that violated customary
leadership protocols.

The Barriere Lake Algonquins select their leadership not by ballot, but by a
strict Customary Governance Code that involves the nomination of candidates
by elders and their approval in community assemblies. As Strahl states in
his public letter, INAC's "role is to simply acknowledge the outcome and
register the results."

But the Elder's Council in Barriere Lake quickly launched a judicial review
of Strahl's move, arguing INAC went beyond their legal bounds in deciding
who should be in power. In April, INAC motioned to dismiss the Elder's case,
maintaining INAC did not make a “decision” reviewable by the courts.

The February 18 memo demonstrates that decisions were in fact made. Instead
of carefully assessing whether a leadership selection conducted by Ratt's
supporters in late January 2008 accorded with the Customary Governance Code,
it focuses on the benefits and drawbacks of three possible INAC responses:
recognizing Ratt, maintaining relations with Nottaway, or withdrawing
recognition for Nottaway and mediating or imposing an electoral system on
the community.

According to the memo, keeping ties with Nottaway would entail "continuity
of tensed [sic] relations between INAC and the Band Council, considering its
claims." For nearly two decades, Nottaway's supporters have been locked in a
battle with INAC and Quebec over the implementation of a landmark Trilateral
agreement that would give the First Nation say over resource use on 10,000
square kilometres of their traditional territory.

Despite Nottaway's council's "claim to its legitimacy," the memo expresses
preference for a band council headed by Casey Ratt, detailing "positive
impacts" that include “improved collaboration of the new council with INAC,”
a “new council less dogmatized," and a "new environment more favourable to
the development of the community" and a "healing process."

A 2006 attempt by Ratt’s supporters to select a chief and council was
dismissed after mediation in 2007 by Quebec Superior Court Judge Réjean
Paul, who called the group a “small minority” whose selection process “did
not follow the Customary Governance Code." Over that year INAC withdrew
recognition for Nottaway's customary predecessor, Chief Jean-Maurice
Matchewan, until Paul issued the report affirming his legitimacy.

The secret memo acknowledges Judge Paul’s "approach" and admits INAC "does
not have all the information" regarding Ratt's recent selection, but states
an independent observer "partly related the process' compliance with custom
requirements."

When INAC cited this local court worker's report in a March 10 letter
notifying Nottaway he was no longer Chief, officials refused to release it
to the community. The Elder Council's lawyers obtained it through court
months later and discovered that the observer had in fact stated he
"couldn’t guarantee” Ratt had followed the Customary Governance Code.

The memo also dismisses taking advantage of the "shaky situation" in the
community to impose an Indian Act election system, because its "major
impacts" would require further analysis. Inside observers say such a move,
which would unilaterally discard the community's customary selection by a
Minister's order, could risk being deemed unconstitutional.

Strahl has come under fire recently after documents leaked to the Globe &
Mail revealed that INAC secretly plans to revive the Liberals' First Nations
Governance Act, which includes challenging "flawed" or "outdated" customary
selections of First Nation leaders.

The memo mentions the possibility of “barricades” and suggests informing the
Quebec police to "ensure the supervision of the community in the days
following the announcement of the new Council." Community members tried to
bar Ratt from returning to the reserve in March, dragging trees along the
reserve's access road. Ratt required escort by police, who arrested a dozen
people and maintained a heavy presence in the community for two weeks,
preventing Nottaway's council from accessing any administrative buildings.

While these earlier incidents received little attention, Barriere Lake
acquired a higher profile after Nottaway's supporters blockaded a major
Quebec highway in October and November 2008, rallying to the demand that
INAC implement the Trilateral Agreement and appoint an observer to witness
and respect the outcome of a new leadership selection. Nottaway was arrested
and jailed for two months in the winter for his participation, arousing
condemnation of the Conservative government from Green Party leader
Elizabeth May, the NDP, and major unions.

Ratt issued a press release after the blockades stating the former council
"focused too much of their attention on the trilateral agreement" and that
it was time the "First Nation moves forward." INAC pulled out of the
agreement in 2001.

The secret memo was released by the Ministry of Justice on March 13, almost
a year after a request filed by lawyers for the Elder's Council was
initially denied because INAC maintained they had not made a “decision”
about leadership.

Withholding the document, INAC won a dismissal of the Elder's Council
judicial review in August but then lost an appeal before a federal court in
January. The Judge concluded that a reviewable "decision" had been made and
emphasized that the legal status of the Ratt Council remained uncertain,
despite recognition from Strahl. After another request for documents, a
privacy commissioner green-lighted the memo's release. The court case over
leadership will proceed this summer.

Martin Lukacs is a writer and activist, and a member of the Barriere Lake
solidarity collective in Montreal.
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