Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Despite being an academic, I like to think I have a glancing contact with reality, and the reality is Justice at Last put a $150 million cap. That was the cabinet decision. It's a much higher cap than we were talking about in Bill C-6. Of course, in principle I would prefer to se

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, but there are legitimate concerns, which I certainly share, about equitable treatment of claims above the cap. How do we know enough resources will be devoted to them? How do we know they won't lose out in the competition for resources with claims below the cap? Do we have e

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  What I'm talking about are the formal rules of the tribunal that permit procedural informality. For example, one way you can have evidence is to have everybody physically present in the room at the same time. Another way you can get evidence is to videotape it. If you have elde

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you. Concerning the difference between Bill C-6 and this in terms of one person, the issue isn't only one person. The issue is a highly self-interested person versus an independent, impartial person. With Bill C-6, the idea was that the minister had unilateral powers. The

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, and the institutional setting. Are they independent? Are they impartial versus being a self-interested person? But the trade-off is that three people generally have more wisdom than one person has, just as thirty have more than three. There is, however, a very severe counte

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There are a couple of points. The detailed negotiation of the bill was done on a confidential basis, with occasional reporting on the broad picture to the constituency Assembly of First Nations. But I do want to take pains to say that you have to see the bill that emerged as the

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'm not so sure the AFN has made any specific proposals about being part of the tribunal. I don't think it has made any suggestions one way or the other on that in the sense that you would not only have a judge deciding, but somehow you would have a panel of elders being a consul

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The initial interpretation of phrases like “unilateral undertaking” will be made—if it gets to the tribunal—by whichever judge is appointed to hear that particular case. If either side disagrees with that, they have access to judicial review. That means that a three-member panel

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There is provision for fast-tracking certain claims that have already gone through the Indian Claims Commission process. Beyond that, it is one of those debates about a larger roster or a smaller roster, where reasonable people can argue it both ways. Some would say to prioritize

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It's one of the issues that's supposed to be discussed at the joint liaison and oversight committee. I think you very well expressed what the concern is. I don't think mediation works very well unless you have some sort of compulsion at the end of it, such as binding adjudicati

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, they are.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The joint task force report, which I was party to, recommended that it be an ordinary administrative tribunal, with people appointed for that particular purpose. It's an arguable position. I actually do see some merit to the judges-only approach. You will thereby have people wh

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I understand the provisions about intervenors to be giving an opportunity to somebody who wants to participate, and it's the same thing for a province. I don't see any interpretation of the statute that forces a province to participate ever, or that ever makes a province liable t

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There are several points of entry for elders under the statute, one of which is the stakeholders advisory committee. You could have elders as well as technocrats who have experience in this area. Another is that this advisory committee is going to make proposals on what the tribu

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'll try to be extremely brief, as you requested. This advisory body will have no impact whatsoever on how any individual case is dealt with; it will only advise on the general rules. As far as I understand, it's not unusual when a court--whether it's the Manitoba Court of Quee