Wow. Big news out of Canada. Or is it? On November 12th, the Government of Canada formally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Here’s the official declaration, as given by Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, John McNee, to the President of the UN General Assembly, Joseph Deiss.
Call me a skeptic, call me a cynic, but something just doesn’t feel right with Prime Minister Harper’s perfect 180 degree half-pirouette on this issue.
Late last week, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision concerning the intersection of Indian child welfare and labor law. Here’s the decision. NIL TU,O Child and Family Services Society v. B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union, [2010] S.C.J. No. 45.
Last week (Oct. 28), the Supreme Court of Canada, in Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. v. Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, fine-tuned the “duty to consult” doctrine. That doctrine mandates that governments making decisions which may have an impact on Aboriginal or treaty rights have a duty to consult the potentially affected First Nations – even before final proof of the rights in court or ultimate settlement on the rights in negotiation processes. Here’s a good (2009) summary of the doctrine. Duty to Consult
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A divisive debate is currently underway among women’s advocate groups after an Ontario court recently struck down some of the laws restricting prostitution in Canada. Even Aboriginal women’s groups are clashing on the matter.
On Sept. 28, in Bedford v. Canada, Justice Himel of the Ontario Superior Court declared three sections of the Canadian Criminal Code pertaining to prostitution as unconstitutional. Here’s the (146 page!) decision. Bedford v. Canada (Attorney General)
Technically, prostitution was never illegal in Canada, in and of itself. Rather, the three sections of the Criminal Code which were struck down, indirectly made it so. They were:
(1) communication for the purposes of prostitution – Section 213(1)(c)
(2) living off of the sex trade – Section 212(1)(j)
(3) the keeping of a “common bawdy house.” – Section 201
In a joint statement by the Aboriginal Women’s Action Network (AWAN) together with Asian Women Coalition Ending Prostitution and South Asian Women Against Male Violence, the authors claimed that the Ontario Court “abandons Aboriginal women and women of colour to pimps.”
‘Avatar’ director is helping Canadian tribal peoples concerned about pollution caused by government’s oil-sands extraction.
By Eric Ditzian – MTV News
After spreading word of the colonial persecution of a tribe of blue aliens on a natural-resource-rich planet called Pandora, James Cameron has been focusing his environmental activism closer to home. In April, the “Avatar” director pledged to assist Brazilian tribes in their fight against the construction of a controversial dam project, and now he has committed to helping aboriginal peoples in Canada take legal action in connection with pollution from oil development.
Cameron, who was born in Ontario, Canada, met privately with aboriginal leaders and residents of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, on Tuesday to discuss the community’s concerns about the connection between high cancer rates and water, air and wildlife pollution stemming from ongoing exploration and extraction of oil sands, according to The Vancouver Sun.
“I will be meeting with [Alberta] Premier [Ed] Stelmach tomorrow and I will be doing a press conference afterwards to get the word out there about what’s happening here,” he told the paper. “Hopefully we can make a difference and get things moving in the right direction. It’s going to be a fight, as I’m sure you know. But if you all stand together and work together with the other First Nations, I think we can draw a line in the sand here.”
Fort Chipewyan residents have long complained about high rates of cancer and other illnesses they say stem from oil-sands development and are planning legal action against the provincial and federal governments. In 2009, the Sun reports, the Alberta Cancer Board announced that Fort Chipewyan residents had experienced 30 percent more cancer cases than normal, though the community’s small population might have rendered that rate a statistical anomaly. The Alberta government has denied that oil-industry activities have negatively impacted communities downstream from development sites.
The extent of Cameron’s assistance is still being determined. In addition to his meeting with government officials and the media attention that his presence attracts, the Oscar winner might directly contribute to legal efforts or help with a fundraising drive.
“There’s a big imperative for them to get this tar-sands oil right,” Cameron said. “We’re not saying they have to stop development, we’re not saying they have to take the jobs away. We’re just saying they’ve got to do it right. They’ve got to do it in a way that’s responsible. Responsible development, responsible to the environment and responsible to the people directly affected by it. That’s not a lot to ask. There’s a lot of money at stake here, and they should spend some of it to fix this problem.”
The document is here. Alberta (Minister of Aboriginal Affairs) v. Cunningham
And here’s the original (2007) decision from the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench. Peavine Métis Settlement v. Alberta (Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development), [2007] A.J. No. 913
Here’s the Ontario Superior Court’s decision. Kingspan Insulated Panels Ltd. v. Brantford
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