Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on Bill C-56, an act respecting an agreement with the Norway House Cree Nation for the settlement of matters arising from the flooding of land and respecting the establishment of certain reserves in the province of Manitoba.
This omnibus legislation deals with two issues, the Norway House Cree Nation's master implementation agreement resulting from the flooded land which we refer to as part one, and reserve establishment particularly in reference to the Manitoba treaty land entitlement framework agreement of 1997, part two. I will be speaking on these two issues separately and in the order I have just outlined.
I express my reservations about the combination of bills this legislation represents. While I certainly realize the issues are related, I feel these issues should be addressed separately to provide each bill with the attention it deserves.
With regard to the Norway House Cree Nation and the master implementation agreement that was signed by the first nation, the province of Manitoba, Manitoba Hydro and the federal government on December 31, 1997, while it was 1997 before the agreement was signed it was more than 20 years earlier that hydroelectric projects changed the way of life for the aboriginal people living in northern Manitoba.
In the early 1970s the Churchill and Nelson Rivers diversification projects and the late Winnipeg regulation project flooded more than 212,000 hectares in northern Manitoba. The flooded area included 4,800 hectares of reserve land and an additional 200,000 hectares of land used by the aboriginal people for traditional purposes such as hunting and trapping. This affected five first nations, the York Factory, Split Lake, Cross Lake, Nelson House and Norway House Cree Nations, comprising approximately 12,000 aboriginal people.
Recognizing the severe impact of the hydroelectric projects on the first nations in the area, Manitoba Hydro, the province of Manitoba, the federal government and the affected first nations signed the northern flood agreement. The flood committee incorporated was formed to act on behalf of the five first nations in the area affected by the flooding. It was this organization that signed the northern flood agreement on behalf of the first nations.
The purpose of the northern flood agreement was to provide a framework for compensating the first five nations affected by the hydroelectric projects.
These projects included the construction of up to 14 power stations, four which were constructed by the mid-1980s and 10 which will not be finished until the year 2050, a full 73 years from the signing of the agreement.
This is a long process and the results of the projects are far-reaching, both in terms of the amount of land flooded and the future impacts these developments will have on the life of the aboriginal people.
Since its signing on December 16, 1977, the northern flood agreement has been fraught with all kinds of problems. This has led to the failure to implement many of the provisions contained in the agreement and the first nations have been forced to seek restitution through a dispute resolution program. This was noted by the auditor general in his 1992 report as a major fault and something the federal government should address since adversarial positions seldom assist those groups most affected, in this case the five first nations.
It is not my intention at this stage of the process to go into any detail about the advantages and disadvantages of this legislation and the agreement it represents. That is best left for the committee stage when we will hopefully have an opportunity to hear from those individuals impacted by the flooding and the subsequent agreement. If it is anything like the tobacco bill, that process will not unfold to the satisfaction of many of us in this House.
Speaking to the terms of the agreement, under the master implementation agreement the Norway House Cree Nation will receive $78.9 million in cash and hydro bonds, and approximately 24,000 hectares of new reserve lands. The settlements of the other first nations range from $47 million and almost 14,000 hectares of new reserve land as well as 1,100 hectares of fee simple for Split Lake to $62.5 million and 22,000 hectares of new land reserve for Nelson House. York Factory received more than $24 million and 7,700 hectares of new land reserve as well as a segment of fee simple land.
The money mentioned in these settlements is being placed in trust for the first nations. In the case of Norway House, Keenanow Trust will be handling the proceeds. This is an important revision of the agreement since the money will not come under the terms of the Indian Act. Instead, first nations will have greater control over how and where this money is spent.
In order for the federal government to negotiate settlements individually with the first nations it was necessary for the parties to negotiate the proposed basis of settlement. Since the first five nations were at various stages of agreement this was the only way for the government to bring to closure the northern flood agreement.
Cross Lake, the only first nation that has not signed an implementation agreement, remains opposed to doing so and has been active in seeking support for treaty recognition of the northern flood agreement.
The Manitoba aboriginal justice inquiry of 1991 stated that the governments of Manitoba and Canada recognize the northern flood agreement as a treaty and that the two governments should honour and properly implement the terms of the northern flood agreement. While the master implementation agreement signed by the four other first nations will ensure that they begin receiving the compensation promised under the northern flood agreement, the question of treaty status for the agreement has never been completed to the satisfaction of all parties involved.
The community of Norway House voted in a referendum to accept the master implementation agreement. While questions have been raised about the validity of the process, the community members voted to accept the agreement in the second referendum. This should reflect the community's acceptance of the terms of the agreement and their satisfaction with it, or at least a desire to move on.
This legislation is not necessary for the implementation of this agreement since it has already been going ahead. Instead, this legislation is another step toward implementing terms of the northern flood agreement and the federal government's obligations under the agreement with regard to the first nations which have signed implementation agreements. This does not apply to Cross Lake as I mentioned earlier.
This issue is one I look forward to studying more closely at committee stage, particularly in terms of the first nations' views of the agreement and the northern flood agreement. One advantage of this legislation should be the opportunity to move away from the dispute resolution process to a more conciliatory form of negotiation and discussion.
I would like to take a look at the second part of this legislation to establish reserves in the province of Manitoba. Part 2 of this legislation is expected to assist in establishing reserves where an obligation exists in a current or future agreement to set aside land for this purpose.
This has particular relevance for the signatories to the Manitoba treaty land entitlement framework agreement. Treaties signed between 1871 and 1910 and, in particular, the claims of 19 first nations affected by these treaties make up the treaty land entitlement framework agreement. These 19 first nations signed the agreement in May 1997.
Under the original treaties of 1, 2 and 5, each family of five was to receive 65 hectares of land. Under treaties 3, 4, 6 and 10, 260 hectares of land was to be provided for each family of five.
Problems arose, however, when the first nations claimed they did not receive their full entitlement. Some of the band member counts were inaccurate because members of the first nations were away hunting when the surveys were taken. It sounds like what happens to us when we attempt to set up a voters' list. The same problems occurred there. In some cases insufficient land was selected by the first nations when given the opportunity to claim their land under those very treaties.
These entitlements have never been settled with some of the first nations. In fact, only seven of a possible twenty-six first nations that did not receive their full allotment under the treaties have since settled their claims.
The land to be allocated to the 19 first nations who signed the agreement last year is 445,400 hectares. That is slightly less than 1% of the land mass of Manitoba and about 8% of the province of Nova Scotia. The province of Manitoba will provide most of this land from crown land that the federal government and Manitoba agreed would be used for this purpose. The remainder will be provided from private landowners on a willing-buyer/willing-seller basis. In other words, private landowners who do not wish to sell their land will be not be forced to do so.
What this legislation is attempting to do is make it easier to establish reserves from both the federal government's and first nations' perspective. One of the ways the legislation will achieve this is by providing the minister with the power to confer reserve status. That is an important point.
This eliminates the need to obtain governor in council approval, thereby reducing the time the process takes in facilitating full implementation.
In addition, changes are made in the legislation to address third party interests. If agreements currently recognize third party interests in the land, these interests would typically fall under provincial jurisdiction. With the creation of a reserve, however, they would fall under federal jurisdiction.
Accommodating this change in jurisdiction is a very time-consuming process. This has been mentioned as one of the major delays in processing land selections for reserves. With the legislation, reserve status will be conferred subject to that third party interest so the easement or right of way of the third party would be able to continue as the jurisdiction changes.
Perhaps of greater importance or significance, especially for the first nations, is that this legislation allows first nations to establish new third party interests, not just those existing at the time of reserve establishment.
This also allows first nations to take advantage of economic development opportunities as they become available instead of being forced to wait for the land to be given reserve status.
I would like to mention again that this legislation, both parts 1 and 2, requires greater research and consideration on the part and on behalf of the Parliament of Canada. This is something we look forward to doing at committee stage.
At the same time, I certainly realize that the agreement is already in place and functioning. The purpose of the legislation before us is to provide the government with the authority to implement some of these provisions.
Part 2 requires further study as well. It appears to be beneficial to first nations by allowing them to take advantage of conditions on a timely basis and speeding up the process of reserve creation. Obviously, this would be beneficial to the first nations, but again it needs to be examined very closely.
I look forward to studying this legislation, along with my colleagues, at committee stage and learning more about these issues. At this time I still have some serious reservations, as does my party, about this legislation.