14 - Norih Shore News — Wednesday, December 1, 1999

' tre
Maxwell Anderson

- Contrionuting Writer
A week of hostile B.C. hearings
on the Nisga’a Final Agreement
has been wrapped up by .
Parliament’s Standing Committee

The last meeting, held Nov. 19 in
Vancouver, was interrupted by. protesters
yelling “shame” and oiher choice phrases.
They were upset that only a few people
opposed to the treaty were permitted to

. Earlier protests had occurred at the
hearings held in Prince George.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien
announced last year that the Nisga’a

. Treaty would be pushed throtigh without
changes, so the hearings were only intend-
ed to study the treaty process and assuage

* British Columbians, many of whom
oppose the settlement. .

Voters in the Mov. 20: municipal elec-

__ tions in Greenwood, B.C.’s srnallest city,
were faced with an ‘extra question ‘on the
official ballot: “Dc you support the
. Nisga’a Final Agrzement as it stands

oday?” Theré.was a high vorer turnout,
and more than three out of every four ci

aty hits

fi 1 Si ;
izens said “no.”

SFU economist John Richards started
off the day of hearings in Vancouver. He
came out against the treaty, predicting it
would encourage people to remain in the
Nass River area, a region of great beauty
but also welfare dependency and unem-
ployment up to 80%. .

On the plus side, economist Roslyn
Kunin noved the treaty is causing the local

_ high school drop-out rate to fall. Nisga’a

youth are getring serious about picking u;
the training they wil need to grab the’
new gove ent jobs expected to open
up as a resuitof the land claim settlement.

Considerable argument took place
about the cost of the treaty.

Economist Robin Richardson has esti-
mated rhe total cost of the treaty to be
$1.3 billion. Using that figure the cost ro
the taxpayer per Nisga’a household in the
Nass Valley works out to approximately
$2 million ($2,617,000 per family of

~ four). .

Economist Rad Dobell countered thar
the treaty should not be viewed as a cost
at all, but rather as a redistribution such as
you might have within a family when one
member is in great need. .

Richardson was also upset that the

hearings

treaty gives a small group of 2,000
Nisga’a partia: control over an area almost
as big as Vancouver Island.

But former MP Jim Fulton argued that
the Nisga’a are being unbelievably gener-
ous in giving Canada $10 billion of their
traditional iand, and only kecping full
ownership of 2,000 square kilometres for
themselves.

As to whether the Nisga’a Treaty
should serve as a template for future B.C.
native treaties, businessman David
McLean said that real progress will only
come when at least one treaty starts to
work and show some success, 2t which
time that success can be built upon.

All present agreed that the Nisga’a
Treaty was not perfect, though most felt it
was as good a compromise as can be
expected and that no alternative wes con-
ceivable.

However, former B.C. attorney-gener-
al Alex Macdonald proposed that eve
thing in the treaty should be given to the
Nisga’a by simply taiforing municipal-style
government to their special needs as has
already been done for the Sechel: Band,
and that this approzch would avoid set-
ting a batch of potentially disastrous treaty
errers in constitutional concrete. :

Kirby’s
is pleased to welcome ...

John Schleimer
(The Barber) ©

to his new address

#108-223 Lower Mountain Highway,

North Vancouver 987-1717 |

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