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Dear Editor:

It was with great interest that 1 read your editorial of Nov. 26, 1986 in which you comment on my recent speech to the North Van- couver Chamber of Commerce.

While the article was quite fat- tering, | feel } must correct several factual and legal mis-perceptions contained in it because these views tend to confuse and distort the relationship between our peoples.

Your statement that British Columbia never made treaties with Indians is incorrect. There are, in fact, 14 treaties in Vancouver Isiand. These treaties were made in the 1850s. There is also Treaty Eight in the northeastern part of the province.

Moreover, your statement that Governor Douglas simply grabbed our fand is incorrect. [It was Gov- ernor Douglas, who recognizing the legal necessity of treaties wi h the Indians, entered into the Van- couver Island treaties.

{t was during the regime of Governor Trutch that the colonial government denied that Indian peoples could possess rights to

lands they had occupied for cen- turies,

Your perception of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and its con- sequences on our and and gov- ernments is equally interesting. You seem to view the proclamation as some kind of political commit- ment akin to a promise made dur- ing an election campaign and hav- ing no legal effect.

The Roy2} Proclamation of 1763 was proclaimed pursuant to the royal prerogative. It has the force of law in the same way as a statute does. Moreover, it is a constitn- tional document that speaks of the relationship that must exist be- tween Indian and non-Indian societies in Canada.

As a law it proclaims that the Indian ‘‘Nations’’ should not be molested or disturbed in the possession of our lands. It goes on to provide that “if at any time any of the said Indians should be in- clined to dispose of the said lands, the same shall be Purchased only for Us, in Our Name”’.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 is constitutionally recognized in

Phone users at disadvantage

Dear Editor:

One can only speculate what peculiar system of logic governs B.C. Telephone Company’s billing procedures.

Here on the North Shore, subscribers pay $12.05 for an indi- vidual line that gives access to only six toll-free exchanges, whereas lucky Vancouver phone users may dial no fewer than 19 toll-free ex-

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It is hard to see why North Shore users of the service should be at such a disadvantage, and it would be interesting to get a ra- dional explanation from the com- pany other than that it) means larger profits for shareholders. David Macaree West Vancouver

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Section 25 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Our aboriginal and treaty rights are recognized and affirmed in Section 35.

We are governed by the rule of law. Governments as well as private citizens must abide by the law of the land.

In truth, we have not been feft unmolested in possession of our lands. We have not ceded. We have not made treaty. We have not been conquered.

The lands were simply taken. If this amounts to an expropriation, which is highly doubtful, then the law requires that compensation be paid.

You talk of an income redistribution scheme as if we are asking for some sort of charity.

Nothing could be further from the truth, We are asking that gov- ernments in this country finally abide by the law.

Finally, we realize that the cost of this is potentially high. That is why we want fo negotiate.

We believe there are a variety of ways to resolve these issues in a manner that is to the long term benefit of all British Columbians. However, these cannot be explored without open and frank discus- sions and a sincere commitment to change the status quo.

To keep us in our present state of economic and political oppres- sion is to ensure a far greater cost for Indians and non-Indians alike. Chief Joe Mathias B.C. Vice-Chicf, Assembly of First Nations

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