PRESS RELEASE -- Mi’kmaq Respond to Minister Tom Rideout’s Statements December 19, 2006 In a CBC Radio interview on Thursday, November 30, 2006, the Hon. Tom Rideout, Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs responded to the press release issued by Ktaqamkuk Mi’kmaq Alliance Chief Bert Alexander on November 29th re-establishing Mi’kmaq land rights in Bay St. George. Following Minister Rideout’s interview, the KMA is hereby clarifying its position on this issue: The Mi’kmaq Alliance also contends that following a federal supreme court decision in British Columbia in 2004, the provincial government has an obligation to consult with the Mi’kmaq people prior to granting licenses and/or permits to develop land the Mi’kmaq define as traditional territory. Consequently, any individual, corporation or association undertaking any kind of development or use of traditional Mi’kmaq territory should be aware that such undertakings may carry with it the risk of a legal challenge. The Treaty re-establishing Mi’kmaq land rights was a Treaty between the British Crown and the Mi’kmaq who used Newfoundland and it was prepared for the purpose of entering into a Treaty with the Crown in return for land in Newfoundland. The Crown, who had some control in Newfoundland, set aside land in Bay St. George for the Mi’kmaq. Like all other Treaties with the Crown, all successor governments were and are bound by the Treaty. The Treaty referenced by the KMA refers to land in Newfoundland, not in Nova Scotia. The KMA therefore is not relying on the strength of the Peace and Friendship Treaties referenced by Minister Rideout, but on one that was negotiated separately referring specifically to Newfoundland. Regarding the question of first contact, we have never seen any evidence that proves the English were in Newfoundland before the Mi’kmaq or their ancestors. The court case referred to by Minister Rideout, a class-action lawsuit filed in July 2003 in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, is not about treaty rights. It is about the federal government’s deliberate decision to breach its fiduciary obligations to the Newfoundland Mi’kmaq for the past 57 years by not providing the same benefits, protection, and opportunities it provided other First Nations throughout Canada and since 1984, to the Conne River Mi’kmaq. Minister Rideout stated that the Mi’kmaq should join the Federation of Newfoundland Indians (FNI) and accept a “landless band” agreement. The FNI is trying to become recognized as a “landless band”. The FNI and its members are not recognized as Indians under the Indian Act and will only be recognized as “off reserve” Indians under the “landless band” agreement. Consequently, they will have no reserve, nor will they have access to programs and benefits that the Conne River Band has access to. Other bands who have been established as “landless bands” have been trying desperately to have a reserve set aside for them as in the case of the Gaspe Bay Mi’kmaq Band in Quebec, who have been put into this category for the past 20+ years and whose members have suffered and are suffering now as a result of such classification. To join the FNI would not remedy the discrimination that the federal and provincial governments have inflicted on our people since 1949. I would however, welcome a meeting with Minister Rideout to discuss the benefits that the establishment of several reserves would bring for our members and to the areas of Newfoundland in which the reserves would be established. The establishment of several more reserves would bring approximately 30 million federal dollars into the province every year. All Newfoundlanders should give serious thought to the financial penalties the federal and provincial governments have inflicted on our communities and the financial penalties that the lack of reserve communities has inflicted on the rural Newfoundland economy, which has also been deprived of the benefits that could be derived from the expenditures reserve communities would make in their local areas. Bert Alexander Chief Ktaqamkuk Mi’kmaq Alliance Telephone: (709) 643-9679 Email: balexander@nf.sympatico.ca Web Site: www.kma.chebucto.org Back to the News and Events page ©2003-2008 KMA - Ktaqamkuk (Taga-ma-goog)Mi'kmaq Alliance   Hosted by Your Community, Online!