I'll go right to it. On December 15, 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated the following:
This is a time of real and positive change. We know what is needed is a total renewal of the relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples. We have a plan to move towards a nation-to-nation relationship based on recognition, rights, respect, cooperation and partnership.... And we will, in partnership with Indigenous communities, the provinces, territories, and other vital partners, fully implement the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, starting with the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Six Nations of the Grand River could not agree more.
[Witness speaks in Mohawk]
I am the elected chief of Six Nations. My name is Ava Hill. I am a Mohawk from the Six Nations of the Grand River territory, and I'm here today representing the most largely populated first nation in Canada with some of the largest validated and unresolved land rights issues facing Canada.
I have with me Philip Monture, who is our land rights expert and has been working on this for the last 40 years or more.
We also have a package of information that we've left with the clerk, which includes our presentation along with a number of attachments that I'll be referring to.
In making this presentation I want to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of our Mohawk brothers and sisters of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, as referenced by the Prime Minister, set out the principles of reconciliation with the first principle being the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the framework for reconciliation at all levels and across all sectors of Canadian society.
On May 10, 2016, at the United Nations in New York City, Canada formally adopted the declaration and said we are now a full supporter of the declaration without qualification and stated that by adopting and implementing the declaration we are excited that we are breathing life into section 35 and recognizing it as the full box of rights for indigenous peoples in Canada.
I was at the UN permanent forum when Minister Carolyn Bennett made this announcement to the assembly, and I witnessed the indigenous groups from around the world giving Canada a standing ovation—such a standing ovation and vocal acknowledgement of the important announcement that the minister had to come back to finish her presentation.
Although it has taken Canada a long while to commit, it was the right thing for Canada to do.
As for some of the problems with Canada's land claims policies, I'm certain, with the mandate of this committee to study aspects of outstanding indigenous land issues and to review the federal policies regarding comprehensive and specific claims, you've heard evidence from many first nations from across Canada about what is wrong with the system. We won't reiterate much of the same, but we do feel that the report by the national claims research directors on March 9, 2015, which was entitled “In Bad Faith: Justice at Last and Canada's Failure to Resolve Specific Claims” and the Office of the Auditor General of Canada's 2016 fall report on “First Nations Specific Claims—Indigenous and Northern Affairs”, both identify most of the shortcomings and failures.
A nation-to-nation relationship based on indigenous rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership cannot and must not pretend to happen on the extinguishment of indigenous peoples' rights to their lands and resources. Canada's specific and comprehensive claims are contrary to this principle and must be replaced—period. Anything less places Canada contradicting any nation-to-nation relationship that the Prime Minister promised indigenous peoples in Canada and Canadians generally. These two claims policies undermine the unqualified support for the UN declaration that Canada has internationally committed to embrace.
In addition, the cap of $150 million for the settlement of claims makes the process useless for the Six Nations large claim. With the many failures of Canada's claims policies, the Six Nations of the Grand River foresaw no justice utilizing these policies as the remedy to the crown's mismanagement of our lands, resources, and monies. Instead, we chose litigation in 1995 over Canada's failed land claims policies.
We want to affirm our nation-to-nation relationship and find resolutions to Canada's liabilities through good faith discussion and through revenue and resource sharing agreements. Guided by the United Nations declaration principles, we can re-establish the relationship and properly fulfill the legal duty of the crown to consult and accommodate Six Nations as we continue to share our Haldimand treaty lands with our neighbours, municipalities, Ontario, Canada, and the corporate sector.
What Six Nations is going to present today is not new. We have been consistent with what the Six Nations of the Grand River presented to the Parliamentary Task Force on Indian Self-government on June 29, 1983, wherein we outlined how self-government for Six Nations can be financed using our unresolved land rights issues with the crown; with numerous presentations to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; and with many of Canada's parliamentarians since May 2011.
Six Nations Haldimand treaty lands cover an area of 950,000 acres, of which 275,000 acres are subject to treaty fulfillment, 402,000 are subject to 999-year payments intended to finance Six Nations peoples' well-being and government, and 19,000 acres were sanctioned for short-term leasing arrangements to sustain a Six Nations revenue stream.
These three examples alone would go a long way towards addressing the critical needs of the Six Nations people. However, the wisdom of the government officials of the day put a prohibition on our leasing arrangements on March 3, 1821. This is a mere snapshot of the thousands of land and financial issues between our nations requiring resolve. More details on other land issues and crown mismanagement of Six Nations funds and natural resources can be read in our “Land Rights, a Global Solution for the Six Nations of the Grand River”.
With respect to Ontario, on May 30, 2016, Premier Kathleen Wynne confirmed Ontario's commitment to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations, the TRC recommendations. She said, “I hope to demonstrate our government's commitment to changing the future by building relationships based on trust, respect and Indigenous Peoples' inherent right to self-government.” She promised to engage with indigenous partners on approaches to enhance participation in the resource sector by improving the way resource benefits are shared and to work with the federal government to address the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Recently, the Province of Ontario introduced the aboriginal price adder to its feed-in tariff program of Ontario's Green Energy and Green Economy Act, allowing indigenous first nations an opportunity to participate. With green energy initiatives being developed within the Six Nations treaty lands and guided by the UN declaration principles and the legal duty to consult and accommodate, Six Nations aggressively partnered and invested in these developments. Today, we have secured more than $1.4 million in post-secondary contributions to supplement our educational shortfalls. We will generate more than $100 million over the next 20 years for our community needs, and to date we have supported 892 megawatts of green energy in our battle against climate change and have created countless employment opportunities for Six Nations and surrounding people.
I applaud Ontario's green energy initiatives and the inclusion of indigenous governments in these developments. They have proven that revenue sharing is nothing to be afraid of but is instead a principle to be supported. For more than 40 years the Six Nations of the Grand River have not stood dormant in spite of our unresolved land issues with Canada. We have worked on consultation and accommodation agreements with our surrounding neighbours and the corporate world to help strengthen our nation and to protect our rights throughout our treaty lands, from bridges crossing the Grand River, to flood control dikes to protect the general population, to many infrastructure projects required by the surrounding municipalities.
We require environmental enhancements and mitigation of developments. We have created educational opportunities for our students of all ages and we have secured long-term revenue streams to support these unique educational opportunities. We have established partnerships with international proponents to enhance our economic opportunities and to help build infrastructure at Six Nations. This has also allowed us to secure land holdings to expand our much-needed land base, but we have had these efforts thwarted by Canada's additions to reserve policy.
Six Nations of the Grand River are including themselves in acceptable developments within our treaty lands, subject to Six Nations own consultation and accommodation policy. We are producing revenues and other creative accommodations to address our people's needs. These are needs that the crown in right of Canada fails to address on an almost daily basis. All the while, Six Nations are not required to extinguish a thing. We do, however, entertain these agreements, specifically without prejudice to Six Nations aboriginal and treaty rights and without prejudice to Six Nations' litigation against Canada and Ontario. Yet the sun still shines and the grass still grows and the rivers are still flowing.
To the members of the committee, I have outlined before you how Six Nations of the Grand River implements partnerships with indigenous communities, the provinces, territories, and other vital partners, and intends to fully implement the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, starting with the implementation of the United Nations declaration. This is how nation-to-nation building with the indigenous peoples needs to begin.
For Six Nations, indigenous governance is tied to the land. As part of our June 1983 report to the parliamentary task force on Indian self-government, we stated that entrenchment of our right to self-government will also mean entrenching our relationship as a government with the federal government in specific ways. This relationship will be in the future, as in the past, between the people of Six Nations and the crown. Self-determination, Indian government, and a special relationship are empty words unless there are the resources to make them real.
Six Nations has been in court with Canada and Ontario since 1995, seeking resolve for our land rights and the financial mismanagement of our resources. We would prefer negotiating rooms instead of courtrooms. Under the present governments, both Canada and Ontario have indicated their willingness to negotiate, but new mandates are required for both.
Lastly, Six Nations calls on Canada and the province to return to the negotiating table with a proper mandate to rebuild this nation-to-nation relationship. Long-term, sustainable, and manageable revenue streams to offset the legal liabilities facing Canada today must go directly to the Six Nations government to supplement the educational and social shortfalls our community faces daily. This will take time, and we are willing to invest this time, and do it right for the Six Nations people's future, and for the future of our neighbours.
As we, the Six Nations, agreed to share our lands, we expect nothing less than Canada and Ontario agreeing to partnership building and revenue sharing from all uses of our lands and resources throughout our Haldimand Treaty. Six Nations wants to talk revenue sharing for all natural resources, including aggregate and gypsum, extraction and water consumption within our Haldimand Treaty lands. We want to discuss sharing in a percentage of all land transfers, taxes, and development fees.
We have always been key players in protecting Mother Earth, and as such, we want to continue to proceed down this path in our battle against climate change.
This is the process Six Nations has proven works. It is a process we feel the Prime Minister and the premier need to implement to resolve past wrongs, and without extinguishment of our children's treaty rights. Canada and Ontario can implement such a process to positively fulfill their political commitments to the indigenous people in Canada and to all Canadians.
Thank you. We look forward to this new beginning.