Current Treaty Approach is Deeply Flawed Says Gordon Gibson
Contact:
Suzanne Walters, Director of Communications,
The Fraser Institute, (604) 714-4582 Email: suzannew@fraserinstitute.caGordon Gibson, Senior Fellow in Canadian Studies,
The Fraser Institute, (604) 737-7878 Email: gordong@fraserinstitute.caRelease Date: 25 February 2000
VANCOUVER,BC>>> According to noted commentator Gordon Gibson, the treaty process in British Columbia, and potentially in other parts of Canada, is deeply flawed. A new paper from Gibson, Principles for Treaty Making, released today, provides a comprehensive alternative to the current treaty making approach.
"Treaties, even if done perfectly, address less than half of the policy questions and half of the individuals involved in aboriginal/non-aboriginal relationships," says Gibson, Senior Fellow in Canadian Studies at The Fraser Institute. "And for those natives who are impacted, the proposed Nisga'a Treaty is an example of how failed historic policies will be broadened and deepened by the current treaty making process."
Gibson argues that in a field so littered with failure, flexibility rather than a constitutionalized - and therefore unchangeable - approach is required. In proposing an alternate approach, several key principles must be incorporated into the treaty process:
Equality is central. Treaties should invariably aim at reducing the legal distinctions between Indians and non-Indians.
There is no justification for a Third Order of government.
Small governments with large powers and insufficient checks and balances pose a threat to freedom and equity.
The rights of individuals taken together are more important than the rights of the collective (whose only value is as a servant of individuals), and individuals should have the right to take their share of treaty settlements as individuals. This is a revolutionary concept in Canadian Indian policy.
Transparency is totally inadequate under prototype modern treaties, both for taxpayers and tribe members, and must be much strengthened, since knowledge is the absolute fundamental of democratic governance.
In addition, solutions must have general public support (unlike the Nisga'a Treaty) or else they will fail. "To put it bluntly, solutions that are not supported by Canadians generally will not in the long run be funded by Canadians generally," says Gibson.
It is also important to recognize that there is an entrenched `Indian Industry,' some members of which will be threatened by egalitarian principles. Elements of that industry have strong motives to attack new approaches.
Ultimately the treaty process must reflect Canadian values such as equality, democracy, accountability, the coupling of entitlement with responsibility, tolerance of diversity, and mobility rights.
"These value references are not mere platitudes. They are genuine issues when one assesses proposals for embedding by treaty small, special-purpose, closed, and culturally-homogenous societies in a large and pluralistic open society, " concludes Gibson, "These values are so fundamental and cherished that it is difficult to see how any relationship not based on such things could long or happily endure."
Established in 1974, The Fraser Institute is an independent public policy organization based in Vancouver.
For further information contact:
Suzanne Walters, Director of Communications,
The Fraser Institute, (604) 714-4582,
Email suzannew@fraserinstitute.ca
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