[IPSM] Ottawa trying to bribe Deh Cho

[Macdonald Stainsby]

Introductory rant by Macdonald Stainsby

One, the Deh Cho are not involved in a land claim. They refuse the terms 
such as "extinguishment" and "land claim" for the simple reason that you 
cannot extinguish human rights (The United Nations recently took Canada 
to task on that very point). The second point to note is that if, as 
Prentice "brags", the offer is consistent with other nations in "North 
of 60", then it should rightly be rejected. Each and every one of the 
prior agreements do not allow proper resource control or the statement 
that it is owned by the nation (in these territorial areas, the 
indigenous far out number the settler and immigrant populations), that 
they can determine which lands needs to be protected, and what terms of 
protection areas that do get opened up will see, that they can set up 
their own forms of government and have real control over matters that 
threaten to consume and absorb the entire society.

The Aboriginal pipeline group, despite it's neato sounding name, is 
nothing but a money maker for Ottawa: In order to be a "part investor" 
even though it is the land of the Sahtu, Inuvialuit, Gwich'in that is 
being given a proposal for development, they are being forced to borrow 
billions, and pay it back with profits from the pipeline, should they 
come on side. And if they do not, then this will bankrupt some of the 
poorest people on all of Turtle Island. The Deh Cho, imo, are quite 
right to denounce this project up until now. The threat from Ottawa to 
move ahead with the pipeline while the Deh Cho Process is unfinished 
violates the terms of the Berger inquiry, which stated as a final point 
(among many) that no development can or should proceed until an 
agreement is in place with every effected nation.

Macdonald


Ottawa offers land deal to only First Nation offside with pipeline project
Wed May 31, 06:50 PM EST

By Sue Bailey

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/31052006/2/national-ottawa-offers-land-deal-only-first-nation-offside-pipeline.html

OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government hopes cash and land will lure the 
only native group challenging a $7-billion proposed pipeline that could 
fuel prosperity in the Western Arctic.

Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said Wednesday the Deh Cho First 
Nation would also receive surface and mineral titles if it settles a 
land claim covering 40 per cent of the planned route for the Mackenzie 
Valley project.


Prentice would not disclose other details or how much the offer is 
worth, except to say the deal is "fair."


"The Deh Cho is the largest bit of unfinished business North of 60 in 
this country, so it's an important claim," he told reporters.


"Clearly, it's a claim that we wish to resolve and it has implications 
in terms of the routing of the (pipeline).


"We hope that the Deh Cho leadership will seriously consider it."


But Prentice was quick to repeat past assertions that the Conservatives 
plan to move ahead with the pipeline whether or not the Deh Cho are onside.


"It would be nice to have the land claim settled, but this process takes 
a lot of time.


"Whether it will be resolved prior to the pipeline is an open question."


Deh Cho leaders could not be immediately reached for comment.


Grand Chief Herb Norwegian wasn't impressed in April after Prentice 
publicly said the government doesn't need everyone's consent to approve 
the massive project.


"To take a position that you're going to just bulldoze ahead and hope 
that major corporations get their way, then things will all be fine and 
dandy afterward, is just a wrong way of doing business," Norwegian said.


"(Prentice) is . . . giving the nod to the big companies that 'Yes, the 
government's still onside with you guys and we're going to do everything 
we can to make sure this becomes a reality for you.' That's the message 
he seems to be sending."


The 4,500 Deh Cho Dene are the only major holdouts to decline joining 
the Aboriginal Pipeline Group. The consortium would assume a one-third 
interest in the Imperial Oil-led development if it proceeds.


Prentice says the Deh Cho settlement offer "is consistent with other 
agreements that the government of Canada has negotiated over the last 30 
years North of 60. And we think it is a fair agreement we've tabled."


If other deals are any hint, those proposals could be sweeping. The 
Liberals under former prime minister Jean Chretien signed a settlement 
in 2003 that gave about 3,000 Dogrib in the west-central Arctic taxation 
powers and land use over a territory bigger than Belgium.


The Tli Cho Agreement also gave the Dogrib $152 million over 15 years 
plus annual payments expected to be about $3.5 million.



-- 
Macdonald Stainsby
http://independentmedia.ca/survivingcanada
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green
In the contradiction lies the hope
    --Bertholt Brecht.