Gunalchéesh. Merci. Thank you. Meegwetch. Wela'lin.
[Witness spoke in Tlingit ]
[English]
Hello, everybody. My name is Duane Gastant' Aucoin. I am of the inland Tlingit nation. My moiety is Wolf and my clan is Yanyeidi. I am a white man's child. My dad's family, Acadian people, immigrated from France in 1640 and settled in what is now Port Royal. I am from Teslin, Yukon, and I am a guest of the Algonquins in the Ottawa Valley.
I am not a newbie. I've been on the council since 2009. This is my 17th year on the executive council.
The Teslin Tlingit Council is a modern treaty nation. We signed our agreement in 1993. It came into full effect in 1995. It's an amazing agreement. It's a sign of reconciliation with the Crown and indigenous peoples. Unfortunately, we have issues with implementation. It's great on paper, but when it comes to being implemented, that's when the falling down happens. Unfortunately, the Teslin Tlingit Council has had to take the Crown to court a few times. Back in 2015, we took the Harper Conservatives to court because they unilaterally changed the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act. Three years later, we took the Trudeau Liberals to court because they weren't honouring the financial transfer agreement.
The only ones we haven't taken the court yet—we're equal opportunity—are the NDP, because they've never been in federal power, but we might be taking the B.C. NDP to court. There we go; they're not off the hook.
I was once talking to Andrew Scheer, then the Conservative leader, back when it looked as though he might win the election in 2019. In my quick conversation with him, I explained who I was and what nation I was from. I told him that the message I had for him and for whoever sits in the seat of government was this: We don't care who sits in that seat—Liberal, Conservative or NDP—because we have a treaty with the Crown. Whoever sits in the seat has the duty to live up to the treaty we signed with the Crown and to implement it. It's pretty simple.
One thing we see with this modern treaty commissioner is the ability not to go to court—the ability to try to work things out without having to go to litigation. Litigation is always there. We have no pipe dreams that the modern treaty commissioner will be solving all problems, walking on water and raising the dead, but we do have high hopes that this will improve the relationship we have with the Crown—again, no matter who sits in that seat—without having to go to the courts. Let's work together as equal partners. Let's hold each other up.
As was said before, our treaty is not with Indigenous Services. Our treaty is with the Crown and with all of government. Hopefully, this modern treaty commissioner will help improve the situation and help improve the lives of our people with the Teslin Tlingit Council and within the Yukon as well, because these treaties will benefit everyone.
Gunalchéesh. Merci. Thank you. Wela'lin. Meegwetch.