Native leaders say frustration rising over deal

Native leaders who signed land claims covering more than half of Canada say there's a growing feeling they've been had.

A coalition of leaders who signed 21 multimillion-dollar deals since 1975 is pushing for federal policy to force Ottawa to uphold its end of deals that often forced bands to forfeit future claims in the name of development "certainty."

They say the federal government has a bad habit of breaching those settlements once the ink is dry. They blame bureaucratic foot-dragging and a policy vacuum that allows disputes to drag on for years.

Independent reports, including a blistering assessment by federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser, have also blasted Ottawa's narrow focus on its legal duties instead of broader self-sufficiency goals.

"Our message couldn't be more clear to Canada: they have a crisis on their hands," said Kevin Mckay, spokesman for the Land Claims Agreements Coalition.

"And if there isn't political intervention through the (Indian Affairs) minister's office and indeed the (Prime Minister's Office), this political crisis will spiral out of control."

Mckay is chairperson of the Nisga'a Lisims government in British Columbia. It oversees a landmark deal in 2000 giving about 5,500 Nisga'a citizens self-government power, 2,000 square kilometres of northwestern B. C. and $253 million cash.

In return, the Nisga'a settled for a fraction of their traditional lands along with tax-status concessions and other compromises. They must also pay back some $86 million in loans and interest borrowed to negotiate control of their own territory.

Nisga'a leaders have long complained that implementation of the massive settlement struck with Ottawa and the B. C. government has fallen almost solely on their shoulders. A five-year fiscal agreement for key programs and services is now in its ninth year because federal negotiators haven't shown up to help hammer out the transition to Nisga'a control, Mckay said.

Federal officials blame "an inability to get a mandate from cabinet," he explained. He got an earful from community members when he delivered that message.

"I felt like I had a big target on my back. Some of the Nisga'a citizens who voted against the final agreement in the referendum now have their day to say: 'I told you so. We got swindled.'

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