[IPSM] (fwd) LUBICON: Write to Indian Affairs Minister John Duncan. Tell him to respect long-standing Lubicon Governance Rules.

[Dru Oja Jay]

>  > Please participate in the letter writing action ASAP.  Every day INAC
>> is working to strengthen their
>> > strangle hold on the Lubicon people.
>>
>> Please get your letter out as soon as possible.  Alternatively you can
>> phone INAC.  There are points below to give you the background.
>>
>> Letter Writing Action - Write to Indian Affairs Minister* John Duncan. * Tell
>> him to respect long-standing Lubicon Governance Rules.
>>
>> *The situation: *
>>
>> For over a year Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) has refused to
>> work with duly-elected Lubicon Chief and Council.  INAC's excuse has been to
>> tell the Lubicon people that they failed to run their own June 5, 2009
>> election correctly, an election that was held under long-standing Lubicon
>> Governance and Voter Eligibility Rules, their Custom Code.
>>
>>
>> What is most disturbing about this situation is that, while INAC
>> repeatedly takes the position that "INAC will not interfere in the internal
>> governance issues of the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation," INAC has completely
>> taken control of Lubicon affairs.  INAC has done this by imposing a
>> "transparent" Third Party Manager (someone who is accountable to INAC *
>> only *and not accountable to the Lubicon people or their duly-elected
>> leadership).  While Lubicon Chief and Council have repeatedly offered to*
>>  *work *with *the Third Party Manager to work out the financial problems
>> caused by their former Chief, INAC has made every excuse to gain more
>> control over Lubicon affairs.
>>
>>
>> At the exact moment when the Lubicon Chief and Council could be fighting
>> the vast extent of new in-situ tar sands developments on their lands, could
>> be investigating the disappearing water sources and mysterious animals
>> deaths, could be creating jobs for their people and fixing homes, INAC has
>> taken away their voice.  Please help put a stop to INAC's abuse of power.
>>
>> *Support the Lubicon by contacting Indian Affairs: *
>> Send your letter by email as attachment.
>>
>> Email addresses for INAC's John Duncan:
>>
>>
>> minister at ainc-inac.gc.ca
>>
>> Duncan.J at parl.gc <Duncan.J at parl.gc.ca>
>>
>>
>> John Duncan
>>
>> Minister of Indian Affairs
>>
>> Room 607 Confederation Bldg
>>
>> House of Commons
>>
>> Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
>>
>>
>> Phone numbers if you want to express your concerns over the phone:
>>
>> 1-819-997-0002 (INAC office)
>>
>> 1-613-992-2503 (on Parliament Hill, his MP office)
>>
>>
>>  If possible, please Late CC the following:
>>
>>
>>   Jean Crowder, NDP Indian Affairs Critic    jean at jeancrowder.ca
>>
>>  Marc Lemay, Bloc Québécois Indian Affairs Critic    Lemay.M at parl.gc.<Lemay.M at parl.gc.caGilles>
>> ca
>>
>> Todd Russell, Liberal Indian Affairs Critic    Russell<Russell.T at parl.gc.ca>
>> .T at parl.gc.ca <Russell.T at parl.gc.ca>
>>
>> *
>> *
>>
>> *
>> *
>>
>> *Tell Minister Duncan to follow the rules! *
>>
>>
>> Background:
>>
>> - Long-standing Lubicon Governance and Voter Eligibility Rules, Lubicon
>> custom code, have been before the Canadian government in writing since 1985.
>>  They have also been discussed with Canadian government officials at length
>> in Lubicon land negotiations in 1985-86, 1988-89, 1994-95, 1998-2003.
>>
>> - Previous Lubicon elections were all conducted under these same
>> traditional Lubicon governance rules.  These elections were documented by
>> community-approved Chief Electoral Officers and submitted to INAC.  INAC
>> always accepted the results.  Until now.  Why the change?  What criteria
>> does INAC have to suddenly say a First Nation's long-standing governance and
>> voter eligibility rules, their Custom Code, somehow isn't good enough for
>> INAC?  INAC does not have this power.
>>
>>
>> *Demand that Minister Duncan immediately end his department's abuse of
>> power!*
>>
>> *
>> *
>>
>> Background*:*
>>
>> - Local INAC officials have tried to characterize the situation in Little
>> Buffalo as a "leadership dispute."  There is no "leadership dispute" in
>> Little Buffalo.  The facts:
>>
>>
>> - Lubicon Chief Noskey (former councillor) and Councillors were duly
>> elected on June 5 2009 following long-standing Lubicon Governance and Voter
>> Eligibility Rules.  The election report, written by duly-appointed Chief
>> Electoral Officer Clayton Blood, is publicly available:
>>
>>
>> http://www.lubicon.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95:june-5th-chief-electoral-report&catid=16:documents-and-archives&Itemid=100014
>>
>>
>>
>> - Instead of INAC responding to the election report that the band sent
>> them as is normal, INAC waited to acknowledge the Lubicon Lake Nation for
>> months, and refused to begin working with Lubicon Chief and Council.
>>
>>
>> - During this timeframe the former Lubicon Chief (who knew it was
>> impossible for him to be re-elected under long-standing Lubicon
>> rules) organized an event at which he got a few handfulls of close
>> supporters/family members to declare him "Chief for Life," a position that
>> does not exist, nor has ever existed, in traditional Lubicon governance
>> practices (which are publicly available and well known).
>>
>> *Selection of Lubicon leaders has always been democratic (at the earliest
>> times done by consensus, in the last 30 years by election with a
>> Lubicon-determined list of voters); Lubicon society was never controlled by
>> an oligarchy.
>>
>>
>> - While the Lubicon community knew the former Chief's claim to unbridled
>> power was absurd, as were his attempts to create rumours about the current
>> chief and councillors, INAC took full advantage of the situation.  INAC
>> began calling the Lubicon situation a "leadership dispute."  INAC then used
>> this "leadership dispute" as an excuse as to why they could not sign a new
>> financial agreement with the Lubicon Chief and Council (conveniently local
>> INAC officials have made up the claim that the Lubicon people can't decide
>> who their leaders are, even though they know this is not the case).  With no
>> financial agreement in place between the Lubicon and INAC, which occurred
>> solely *because INAC* has refused to put one in place, INAC built
>> themselves a case as to why they had the authority to take over Lubicon
>> affairs: eg. "we're doing it to restore funding and help the poor Lubicon
>> people; we're heros!"
>>
>>
>> - INAC imposed Third Party Management on the community this past winter.
>>
>> Putting in place a Third Party Manager (TPM) who is accountable to the
>> community through the duly-elected Chief and Council is one thing, and it is
>> something the Lubicon have agreed to.  Instead, however, INAC has made the
>> TPM report and take directions from INAC.  This is an abuse of power.
>>
>>
>> - First Nation's right to determine how they choose their own leaders is
>> vital.  INAC is taking that right away from the Lubicon and working to put
>> their own person in place.  This is an abuse of power.  Add your voice to
>> the voices of the Lubicon people.  Demand INAC respect long-standing Lubicon
>> governance and voter eligibility rules.
>>
>>
>>
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