“a wonderful day for
RCL”

— A earful B.C. Premier
Glen Clark, ‘ushering j in the
signing of the historic
Nisga’a’ treaty.

fp

‘FOR some reason Iam
-not feeling so wonder-
ful.

And like Premier Gillen

Clark E have tears in my eyes,

But no tears of joy these,
» More like tears of frustra-

tion over the loss of B.C. as

we know ite)”
And it is, V predict, just

the start of many tears to be

shed.
For it is the first in what
could be many “wonderful”
‘days. that wil} leave only rem-
nants of a once great
province, oy
The- anonerary cost! of the
> Nisga’ a agreement is still
being ‘vallied, :
‘True to the modus
operandi of government, the.
real cost is buried deep in
me accountant’s foot lock
and will only be: revealed

nd, oucat SIs revela-
tions froni the final draft of
the-treaty recently leaked by
the: Liberal Opposition; was
ing: beyond -
Pto

out ro a Nisga’a, 26% of.
the allowable Na
atch, $36 niillion‘in
and $}57..
to’ Mh awh the. band:
rmmen and

a “ep of how rich -
Pesource “
“deal, they:

ry’ the i atten:

that'the Nisga’ a agi
now: the template. uy
which the’ remaining 50 add

; astutcly called i
And'tich ped grounds

‘Power moonroof:

0 wat, 3 cb sound system ze

port suspensic we
Traction coniral & ABS

Squamish already count some
of the best remaining
Vancouver harbor waterfront
in their Jand bank.

Their chief, Joe Mathias,
has never been shy about
playing the Squamish hand in
this poker game to the maxi-
mun.

The band has identitied |
traditional lands ranging
from Whistler to Kitsilano, -
the North Shore and
Burnaby. Close to 6,500 sq.
km (2,500 sq. miles) in all.

Their lucrative 22-hectare
moncy dump at the foot of
Capilano. Road, chronicled in
previous Ripping Yarns, cur-
rently hauls in $4.4 million
per year alone from the fed-

eral government in lease pay-

an

a. mailbox

‘ments and is on track to
yield a reported $1 billion
“during tie lite of the 71: “year
lease.

Not bad for a vacant lot,

‘The 331-member Burrard.

Band is taking a.slightly dif’
ferent approach to land o
‘claims. os -

“territory is approximately
720 square miles, stretching
| from the Fraser River i in the

“Harris i is

~ Dear Editor:

‘Re: Truth in politics an |

oxymoron! :
Devotees of the sick’ soap ©
“opera, “The Way the World’
Should ‘Be;” Glen © Clark*

Producer, would-have British

“Columbians | believe there. is
noomeris in-whar NDPers
choos¢'to call the “Slash ‘and :
: Burn”. policies -of Oncario
‘Premier Mike Harris...
“Lining, the packets of

. ithe rich‘on the backs of the’.

p00r;"., NDP .MLAs - cry.
“Attacking the ‘Workers’ and ©
death to: jobs,” they. wail in

heir age‘old script.:. :
: Surely: they cannot hac
ead at a.$200° million’
i Provincial Water |

“Ontario”. munic watice vin
heir ‘efforts to tackle, envi-

[as St

Its purported tiaditional 7

details -of

south to Garibaldi Lake in
the north. Most of Greater
Vancouver is in there too.

But George and his hand
are secking varving levels of
“imerest” in the Burrard’s
claimed territoric

Partnerships, i you like,
in the operation of lands, and
resources ineated in what
they maintain is their tradi-
tional homeland. :

Mr. JE. Rhys of West

, Vancouver puts one interpre-
‘gation of the dollars and
cents value on the Burrard’s
claim.

An extreme one perhaps,
bur do the math with Mr.
Rhys in his * ‘abstract valua-
tion’ of the potential mini-
mum worth to cach Burrard
on-reserve member (Rhys
uses 206, a figure from the.

‘Department of Indian
Affairs) in the event full
aboriginal title were to.be
awarded” to Burrard mem-

; bers:

... the 720 square miles
would amount to approxi-
mately 3.5 square miles for -
each individual, which at 640
acres per square mile would
be, say, 2,240 acres, the
equivalent of about 9,000

“average size residential build-

wing lots, which ata potential
price of say $200,000 would °

create a nest egg of

_ $1,800,000,000 for-cach

niember.”

But aside from all the
monetary issues raised by the
Nisga‘a agreement is the
unsettling aspect of racial

lems ‘with the sewage and’
water, tréatment infrastruc:

ture of that pravince.
In June

Environment _ Minister,

Norm ‘Sterling announced \!
grants . totalling

nearly $104 Prnillion to vari-
‘ous municipalities. «, ae
The moncy is:to be used

7 to. improve 18 Water. treat: ;

ment and27- st Wage: treat-
ment works, :

 That_is in addition to'a!
Fy dnnouncement of :
nearly $18. million in grants.
“to six ‘other Ontario munici-
- palities, ‘for.’ a similar pur:

‘spring:

poses 5 UF os! :
* Are there no-union “jobs
connected. with’ that: work,
© Premier, Clark?"
No icbs at all?
Pil. wager

-Vancouver: Regional ' District

1998, Ontario

‘regularity, . at

fe “government
” North
Vancouver District/Greater

exelusiviey built into it.

The agreement, for
ple, establishes a third level
of government sith extensive
powers chat give Niseaa
alone the right to run for
offive and vote in elections
on Nisua’a Jand..

Vhis, remember, is ona
piece of land 500 times the
size of Stanley Park.

Reverse that clement of
the agreement: establish a
massive corner of B.C. in
which only non-aborigimals
can run for decal elected
office and only non-aburigi-
nals can vote.

It would be unthinkable.

Yeu thus far that aspect of
"the agreement has reegived
scant attention from the
media. .

1 guess it’s the right kind
of racism.

But like native-only fish
eries it is dead wrong.

This has’ nothing to do
with different races, different
. peoples. It has everything to
do with equality.

Allocation of resources
and political power by race
did not work in the past and
it won't work now or in the
future. ;

It is a recipe for inter-
racial resentment.

don’t think any right
thinker in B.C. would deny
‘the need to‘achieve fair and
affordable treaties. with the
province’s native bands, but ™-
natives, as any other resi-
dents, need to be a part of «
B.C. and Canada and not

\ pirate hah sana a nase AL EE Pte REN ARN sR inna NEA WAR Ley emote

far ahead of Clark :

with that ad of nivney!
‘Last I heard; the best that’

Glen. Clark's government

could achieve Wasa deficit of “

(895: million’ — if we can
its version: -of the

belie

accounting.

_ Personally, >I prefer’ ‘to

believe that auditor general's

version, pegged. at over, 10,

times that. figure. ;
But, so long as the people

shrug their shoulders, take it

and do nothing’ but moan
about each insult from’-their
arnichairs, ithe NDP, will.

“keep: getting away with the,”
' prevaricating ‘propaganda it.

dishes out, with nauscating ’
taxpayers’ |
expense...”

That “the people get. the’

people. deserve”. is. certainly:
true in this province!

+ Liz James '..
could show you: how to play a

most of] the’ .,

apart from them.

The Nisga’a deal, whict
the free-spending socialists
will soon begin selling te
Britsh Columbians via a
$2.3 million taxpayer-funded
ad campaign, places the
Nisga’a people «part fram

“and above the rest of the

province's residents.
The other native bands

Ee “At surncen

involved in the oth er 50
treaty negotiations before the
province and Canada will |
want the'same,

Thar reality is unwork-
able, inequitable and nal
fordable.

Awondertil day for Bac.

As the ald rock ‘song
woes, Mir, Clark, that’s *same-
kind of wonderful.”

Gli, Lube & Fitter

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