Treaty talks get boost as Ottawa vows to pay the bills
OTTAWA • After years of arguing that it’s unfair to make First Nations pay to negotiate rights to land that was originally theirs, Indigenous groups and treaty lawyers are applauding the federal government’s decision to start footing the bill for Indigenous participation in treaty negotiations.
The new federal budget doesn’t attach a price tag to the commitment, or a second promise to consider forgiving past and present negotiation loans. But existing reports suggest the changes could cost the government hundreds of millions of dollars.
Since the beginning of modern treaty negotiations in 1973, the federal government has signed 26 comprehensive land claims with Indigenous groups, mainly in northern Canada, B. C. and Quebec. About 100 land claim and self- government negotiations are ongoing.
In the budget tabled by Finance Minister Bill Morneau Tuesday, the government committed to scrapping the existing system of issuing loans to Indigenous groups to help them participate in treaty negotiations. Instead, Ottawa will now cover their costs outright. The budget did not indicate how much this is expected to cost, but a 2013 government audit found the average loan for each active land claim was about $10 million.
Cheryl Casimer, a member of the political executive of B.C.’s First Nations Summit, said the commitment will have a “huge impact” on First Nations that sometimes spend decades at the negotiating table.
“We’ve always come to the table saying that we need to address this, saying that First Nations should not have to borrow money … to negotiate land back that is rightfully theirs,” she said.
Casimer said her First Nation, the Ktunaxa First Nation, has been negotiating for 20 years and is facing loans of about $ 20 million. She said the loan system was designed when everyone expected treaties might take a couple of years to finalize. “Little did anybody know that it was going to take decades,” she said.
As it stands, Casimer said, ballooning debt makes it hard for First Nations to move forward with economic development initiatives.
Nancy Kleer, a Torontobased legal counsel for treaty negotiations, said the deci- sion is an “excellent step forward,” but added the government must now also forgive existing loans. “If it’s going to happen for the First Nations going forward, it should certainly happen for the Indigenous groups going back as well,” she said.
Budget 2018 doesn’t make a firm commitment to reimburse paid-off loans or to forgive those outstanding, but it does say the government will “engage” with Indigenous groups on the issue.
The 2013 audit found about $ 817 million in outstanding loans for ongoing and settled claims, including $ 70 million being repaid by seven First Nations that had concluded treaties.
The audit also found that 15 Indigenous groups with settled claims had fully repaid their loans, though it’s unclear how much money that represents. In 2015, a report prepared for the federal government by special adviser Doug Eyford found nearly $ 366 million in loans had been provided to 24 of the 26 Indigenous groups that have settled land claims to date.
Mounting debt from prolonged treaty negotiations has long been identified as a growing problem.
“Under the current approach, loan indebtedness has become a barrier both to concluding treaties and exiting from the process,” the Eyfort report reads. “Some Aboriginal groups are no longer in active negotiations but have not formally withdrawn from the process because of concerns that Canada will seek repayment of their loans.” The report also found some Indigenous groups “are clear that they do not intend to repay their loans.”
Gary Yabsley, a Victoriabased lawyer who has worked on several B.C. treaty negotiations, said the prospect of millions of dollars of debt can turn people against treaty- making in some First Nations communities.
“It makes for a tough sell,” he said. Beyond that, he said, loans create “a power imbalance that nobody in any negotiations likes to have to face.”