Just received this via email and thought you may like to see it (bet you won't like the contents though):
OUR INDUSTRY NEWS SOURCE Parliament Rejects British Columbians Concerns on Tsawwassen Treaty
Bill Otway SDA
This past June our National Parliament in Ottawa chose to ignore the concerns of many British Columbians by passing Bill C 34: the act to install the Tsawwassen Treaty. The members of parliament, with the exception of BC MP John Cummins and Alberta MP Art Hanger, refused to even provide an hour to listen to the concerns of a number of British Columbians, individuals and organizations that asked to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs. Moreover, they would not even take the time to look at the briefs submitted by these BC organizations and individuals.
The Sportfishing Defence Alliance (SDA), for example, in its brief, which the committee members refused to read, tried to point out the implications of the treaty on fish and wildlife management, and the impacts on the rights of other Canadians. The SDA noted that the Nisga'a Treaty had resulted in an annual assignment of 20 salmon per year per person for the members of the Nisga'a bands. The Tsawwassen Treaty, as negotiated and agreed to by the government, provided for 468 salmon per year per person for the Tsawwassen band members.
This type of provision repeated throughout the Fraser River based on population would require an annual allotment of18,720,000 Fraser River salmon for First Nations' use within the Fraser River alone. If you estimated the Tsawwassen share on the basis of giving the same amount to every other band on the Fraser, you would only require 12,263,419 Fraser River salmon for the bands in the Fraser River. One of the key concerns of the SDA and other BC organizations was the entrenchment of harvest agreements with the treaty to give, in perpetuity, an exclusive share of our salmon harvest to the Tsawwassen Band to use for commercial purposes. This is a direct infringement of the Canadian right to fish and is contradictory to the findings of the Supreme Court of Canada (see SCC Judgments, Regina vs. Gladstone 1996, par. 67). Following is the June 4, 2008, transcript from the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs dealing with clause by clause review - a 600-page document:
The Chair: Okay. Well, if the committee likes, we can move to .... Maybe I'll ask someone to move whether we move to clause-by-clause.
Ms. Jean Crowder: I move that we move to clause-by-clause immediately.
The Chair: Seconded by Mr. Russell.
(Motion agreed to)
The Chair: It passes. So be it. We'll move directly into clause-by-clause. We'll take one minute for the agenda to be distributed to committee members.
Ms. Jean Crowder: Can I make a motion that we move all clauses in one motion?
The Chair: We will proceed in that way. But rather than a motion, I'll deal with clause-by-clause consideration. Pursuant to Standing Order 75(1), consideration of the preamble and clause 1 are postponed to the end. (Clauses 2 to 33 inclusive agreed to).
The Chair: Shall the short title carry?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall the preamble carry?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall the title carry?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall the bill carry?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall the chair report the bill to the House?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
The Chair: That's it. The bill is passed.
Canadian democracy in action! John Cummins stood up for all Canadians.
September/October
www.bcosportfishing.com15I have the actual email if some would like it forwarded.
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Topic: Canadian democracy in action! (Read 3484 times)