I hate to rain on tomorrow’s National Aboriginal Day parade, but there's unsettling news from the native affairs front. Senators sprinting out of Ortawa for the summer break left some untinished business on the table. Take Bill C-49, for exam- ple. Officially known as the First Nations Land Management Act, the bill provides 14 native bands across Canada, including the North Shore's Squamish, local control over land use on their reserves, Reasonable enough from afar, but closer examination reveals some serious warts. A compheation her finding warts or any other negative aspects of legisla- tion thar pertains to native bands or native treaties is bad for public relations health these days. Prickly inguiry in the area is now racist, according to big thinkers with soft centres. In a May 6 address to the Canadian Labour Congress, for example, Bob White, the organization’s outgoing president, assured the assembled masses that racism was at the heart of the Liberal and Reform par- ties’ campaigns against the Nisga’a treaty. Nothing to do with that document’s manifold serious flaws at all. Bill C-49 critics, howev- er, might momentarily be on safer ground because the first group out of the gate to challenge the legislation is the Native Women’s Association of Canada. The association has Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart in the cross-hairs of a fawsuit that claims Bill C- 49 fails to protect the inter- ests of aboriginal women. Some bad inter-tribal mojo rising on National Aboriginal Day eve. The bill was whooped through the House on June 12 after the Liberals invoked closure — thereby scuttling a Reform-led push to repair the bill’s flaws. ‘Those flaws include the absence of any requirement for the bands involved ro consult with neighbouring municipalities about reserve land-use issues or develop- ments. There is also the issue of non-native tenants and the expropriation of existing businesses on reserve lands. th less, fhrv'20 yaras tn the original bill, a native band could expropri- ate any interest i its “tirst nation land that, in the opinion of its council, is Necessary for community works of other first nations purposes” — which pretty well meant anything rhe band wanted it to That didn’t do niuch for the viability or stability of non-native businesses oper- ating on native land. A May 9 News srory underscored the practical concerns it raised for those tenants. In its brief to the Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, the owners of the Lynnwood Industrial Estates, which operates on Squamish land just west of the Second Narrows Bridge, pointed out thar the legisla- don had already destabilized the future operation of its business. They argued that non- native tenants on reserves no longer had any protec- tion against arbitrary band expropriation. That made the securing of any future capital or the formulation of any long-term business plans ~a little tricky. The Senate committee furrowed brows and nodded in sage agreement. Not much else happened. But never mind the bleatings of non-natives: native women were upset mailbox Some guestions of biases Dear Editor: A liale exercise in logic: By subtitling his June 11 column “Garden of Biases” Mr. (Trevor) Lautens qualifies. his own views as more biased opinion. People live together and get married because they love each other don’t they? Most in their lives have had sex with people they would never con- sider living with or marrying. So sex is 2 separate issue then. Most diseases are though: to have a strong lifestyle component so it’s hardly reasonable to isolate tle,” Yyesjs 9 ULOOLUS r Centre 200-265 25th St., West Vancouver 926-2609 Cai tor complimentary consultation or brochure : wil that the bill provided no protection for female band memibers as to how property is divided in the event of a marriage break-up, Squamish band member Wendy Lockhart Lundberg told the Senate committee thar Bab C-49 would under mine her mother’s decades- long strugule co reclaim her right co reserve property fost after she married a non: native man 50-odd vears Ago. More sage comempiation trom the Upper House, Its members then retired to give the bil the ence over, Initially there was earnest Senate chin-wapging aver the need tor major changes to the bill. There was talk of delaying its pas- sage through the summer to Mow time to make those changes. the bill chat passed included only minor adjust- ments to the expropriation aspects of the legislation, And there is still no requirement that native bands consule with their municipal neighbours over development plans, which could have major impact on surrounding non-native lands. Brace for some interest- ing Squamish surprises. As to the Native Women’s Association of Canada, it represents merely the tip of the iceberg in the debate over individual prop- erty rights of native band members. The association’s lawsuit argues that because Bill C- 49 leaves the decision-mak- ing power over all band property in the hands of the ruling band elite it fails to protect the matrimonial the statistics on one group without at least mentioning the relationship to the whole graph. The numbers for the same period on smokers med- ical cost to society alone would swamp Mr. Lautens’ argument. And you should have edit- ed out the next little cheap shot at Svend Robinson because to the sensible mind it only confirms Mr. Lautens’ ‘sad prejudice. Dundarave 2402: Marine Drive W. Vancouver 925-1224 i be ce Sunday, June 20, 1929 —- North Shore News — 7 istly property rights of sboriginal women, That appears to be the reality tor other rank and file . >. band mentbers, on reserve ‘ae i Pe 5 < i and off, y None have individual : a } hand property rights, and Ateenices Oil, Lube & Filter oa" 1 therein lies a mayor issue, fly warramy «= 21 pt Safety chech, 15 minutes - FAST! Another issue resides in the Includes up to 5 htres of [Ow 30 Quakersiate H democratic process, or the 1362 Marine Drive 980-9715 H , hcktherott on band Ly (APUS SOON Seon sm Set re 20eeg and how bands inform their membership about such key issues as Bil C-49. On the Squamish reserve, for example, members com- plained thar they knew next to nothing about the bill even though it had been in the works since 1996. Thev also said they had had no input en such key components of the bill as the band’s land code. Bill C-49 has some good elements —- giving native bands the right to control their lands without having to negotiate Otrawa’s bureaucratic tar pit makes good sense. Buc the issues raised pre- viously in this column and initiated by Reform party members are significant. The Bill C-49 legislation represents a parallel treaty process to B.C.’s current treaty quagniire. It is signiti- cant, scrious business. Rather than rush it through the House, legisla- tive legwork should have been done to fix what was wrong with the bill. Now, as illustrated by the Native Women’s Association of Canada dust-up, the repair job is going to cost bags of time and taxpayers maney to resolve. IFit’s ever resolved at all. Have a happy National Aboriginal Day. — trenshaw@dircet.ca Buying A Home? Anywhere in the Lower Mainiand. Selling A Home? Anywhere on the North Shore. I'd love to help you! 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