Bill C-6: Specific Claims Resolution Act

Aboriginal Neighbours

In the rush to pass Bill C-6 - the first of a series of major federal legislative initiatives - the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs held only three days of hearings on this bill. Numerous requests to appear were denied, reportedly because First Nations concerns would simply be repeated and because there are so many bills for this committee to consider in the near future. MCC Canada sent a written submission to the committee outlining its major concerns with the bill.

view written submission

 

Background

A recent Jubilee petition called on the federal government to establish an independent tribunal to deal with a massive backlog of land claims. But the much-anticipated legislation now before parliament fails to reflect recommendations made by a joint federal-first nation task force in 1998.

Bill C-6, the Specific Claims Resolution Act, was re-introduced to parliament on October 9, 2002. Its passage would establish a Canadian Centre for the Independent Resolution of First Nations Specific Claims, consisting of a Commission and a Tribunal.

In the wake of the Oka crisis in 1990 and again in the recommendations of the 1996 report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, clear calls have been made for the establishment of a truly independent commission to deal with the backlog of over 500 "specific claims" currently mired in the government's process. In 1998, a joint task force composed of First Nations and federal government representatives produced a detailed "model bill" which addressed several of the key problems with existing processes.

After receiving the 1998 report, the federal government abandoned the cooperative process and drafted its own legislation. Now, critics argue that the resulting Bill C-6 fails to match the 1998 proposal in several key areas. It reduces the number and types of claims that will be considered and provides little incentive to government to speed the pace of resolving claims. It also fails to give the commission and tribunal the maximum independence possible.

A key problem with present claims processes is that the federal government acts as both defendant and judge. The 1998 report called for commission and tribunal appointments to be made by the federal cabinet from lists prepared jointly by First Nations and government. However, the present legislation calls for appointments to be made exclusively by the federal cabinet upon recommendation of the Minister of Indian Affairs. Terms are relatively short and the Minister may add to the number of commissioners at any time.

The fact that First Nations in Canada have been pushed from the vast majority of the lands they once enjoyed as their sustaining home is a matter of Christian concern. When Jesus began his public ministry he invoked the Hebrew vision of Jubilee–part of which involved a periodic return of land to its original owners as a way of ensuring that all have the means to provide for themselves. Resolution of Specific Claims is one step in the process of rebuilding First Nations and repairing their relationship with Canada.

 

More Information

Read the bill
and a summary of a legal opinion on the bill prepared for the Assembly of First Nations Land Rights Unit (Note: Bill C-6 was formerly known as Bill C-60) MCC submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs Read the summary of legal opinion