OF the 197 B.C. First Nation bands, 42 are presently embroiled in the treaty consultation process. A considerable number of these bands have already entered an advanced stage of negotiations whereby a framework agreement has been reached. They range in size from the 291-member Burrard to the 10,000-mem- ber Tsimishian band. All are laying claim to vast swaths of land or cash. None is likely to settle for less than what the Nisga’a have settled for, since the treaty is said to be a template for future agreements. It’s too fate to halt the Nisga’a treaty. In April, as the B.C. legislature plodded through the lengthy docu- ment, Premier Glen Clark decided to invoke closure — that seldomr-used parliamen- tarian procedure intended te end a debate. At that shige, only 11 of the treaty’s 22 chapters had been debated. The Nisga’a were slated to hold their annual convention in Terrace later that month, and the premier wanted the photo opportunity that would go with his delivering a signed treaty to the Nisga’a. Still, the treaty is contro- versial and Opposition leader Gordon Campbeil has fited a Statement of Claim in the Supreme Court of B.C. on the grounds the Nisga’a authority would “prevail over federal and provincial jaws,” in contravention of the Constitution and the Charter’s derogation of pow- crs. mailbox Headed to Dear Editor: Canada today is like back- sliding Isracl in the day of the prophet Jeremiah. We, like they, have transgressed against the Lord our God. Today, our Supreme Court thinks nothing wrong in rec- ognizing same-sex marriages; indeed, they talk about demeaning the “dignity” of the couple if their demands . are not met. Dignity? What utter folly! ‘There i is nothing dignified about the perverted sex they engage in. It is shameful not worthy to receive added funds from our paycheques, I read in Jeremiah the third chapter verses 2] and 24: “For they have perverted their way — and they have forgotten the Lord their God — for shame has devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth...” and again in verse 35: “We lie down in our shame and our reproach cov- ers us ... for we have sinned against the Lord our God....” To the Supreme Court of Canada, especially judges Your Store of Friendly ideas San Pedi. Jmponts 4381 Gallant Ave. Deep Cove * 924-2016 comment The treacy denies non- Nisga’a living, on Nisga’a land the right to vote for or participate in the Nisga’a government. While the press generated a fair amount of discussion over the treaty and radio calk shows buzzed with fisteners* indignation, the government remained cerily impervious. At the f time those in official circles appended the label racist to anyone who piped up and pointed to the treaty’s flaws. Purveyors of so-called objective data like pollster Angus Reid also took to using the racist ad hominem to stem debate. And the ref- erendum: a sometime eff tive tool of democracy was framed as a means to oppress minorities. Indeed strange times... The government did its best to ingratiate the weaty with British Columbians, and it it stepped up its pamphletcer- forts with a point-form information sheet telling British Columbians how great the treary was. Soon the propaganda was jettisoned into our living rooms, and television screens were flooded with soft- focused sentimental images of the noble Nisga’a, A hand- some ancient face with milky arned from Ni eves blinded by age look into the Na Valley horizon. He might be e: blind, blared bliminal subtext, but he h jon -— in case you tailed to decipher this prolix kitsch. The NDP machinery then turned to the schools. But the school-slated video, which was replete with pro- Nisga’a propaganda raised the ire of teachers and stu- dents alike. Give us a well- rounded debate, they protest- ed, but spare us this . Naturally, we were g up the tab for is coming spring the Nisga’a treaty will be ratified y the Canadian Parliament. This will be done before the higher courts have had the opportunity to adjudge the merits of the Statement of Claim before them. It’s too late to do any- thing about the Nisga‘a, but before another 42 treaties are thrust on this tired and bank- Tupr province, we ought to recount the lessons of Nisga’a and commit them te memo- ry. Because in the attempt to correct the historical wrong that was committed against natives, new wrongs are being dealt to both natives and ordinary Canadians. Tn the process of turning natives into a distinct privi- leged class, a huge schism is opening between those with tax e tions, free tertiary education and affirmative action job entitlements and ordinary Canadians who pay for this inequity. An aside: [ hail from a community that lost millions of its members during the Holocaust; a community that hell in a handbasket Tacobucci, Bastarache and Bin T say, shame on you. You are succeeding in turning A LAWYER FOR ONE REASON Canada into a nation of hell. Dulcie Baxter West Vancouver They understand the paperwork and the | evidence to be collected They have the knowledge and experience to assess the value of the claim They have the ability to collect a fair settlement THERE 3S ONLY ONE REASON TO SEE A LAWYER...YOU NEED ONE ARDAGH FIUNTER TURNER 986-4366 AFTER HOURS 926-3181 Criminaé matters only. #300-1401 LoNSDALE Ave. NorTH VAN. E-mail: harryh@ahtiaw.com Baa Be I eh a rope not Too fore age, a community against which quotas in university admissions were a not too distant reality. Other minority communi- chologicatly crippling effe of special status, communities like ours have triumphed. Japanese, Chinese and Jews have pride of place in most arenas of achievement Presently, aboriginal organi zations derive their incomes from fiscal transfers from government, land claim set- tements, taxation of mostly non-Indians, or gas and ail royalties. As long as native commu- nities depend for their liveli- hood on “revenue that is not earned by working for it,” in the words of University of Calgary Prof. Tom Flanagan, they will exhibic the corrosive effects of dependence. Yes, the Nisga’a treaty represents a slight departure from the offensive Indian Act. But on the whole, it imposes ©n generations to come the blight of a closed society, where political rights are vested in group-member- ship. As Gordon Gibson, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, has written in the BC quar- terly BC Studies: beside ing rise to a large taxpi funded bureaucracy, the Nisga’a treaty espouses a cen- tralized government with inordinate powers over the individual Nisga’a. Since it is in human