Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I stand today to respond to the Reform Party's comments regarding the Nisga'a treaty. Myths about the Nisga'a treaty are being foisted upon an unsuspecting Canadian public by some of our, shall I say, esteemed colleagues from the opposite side of the House. I am talking about the document entitled “Top 10 concerns with the Nisga'a final agreement” which has been made public in the last months. Today I will set the record straight once and for all. I will address all 10 points one by one.
The first myth relates to private property rights for Nisga'a people. Nisga'a lands will indeed be held in fee simple by the Nisga'a nation. That is one of the ways in which the Nisga'a will have the opportunity to preserve their culture. However, the Nisga'a also want to thrive economically. That is why the final agreement creates opportunities that will allow the Nisga'a to convey, transfer or dispose of interest in land, including fee simple parcels which could be owned by anyone. The Nisga'a treaty balances the desirability of protecting the unique Nisga'a culture while allowing the Nisga'a people an opportunity to realize the full economic potential of their assets.
The second Reform myth concerns the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Members of the House need to know that the charter of rights and freedoms applies to all government actions in Canada including the actions of the Nisga'a government. The Nisga'a final agreement specifically states that the charter applies to the Nisga'a government. Moreover, nothing in the treaty limits the application of the charter.
Nisga'a citizens will continue to enjoy the same protections of individual rights and freedoms as other Canadians. In fact, the current exemption of the Indian Act under the Canadian Human Rights Act will no longer apply to the Nisga'a since the Indian Act will no longer apply to the Nisga'a except for the purposes of determining who is an Indian.
How then can anyone rationalize that any Nisga'a person will have diminished rights under the charter? It is written plainly in the Nisga'a final agreement that this is not the case.
The third myth is that the Nisga'a final agreement permanently entrenches the same essential elements as the reserve system in a modern treaty. How much further from the truth can we get? In the words of Nisga'a Chief Joseph Gosnell, with this agreement the Nisga'a are negotiating their way into Canada, not out of it.
With this treaty no longer will there be Nisga'a reserves. No longer will the Minister for Indian Affairs and Northern Development control decision making in Nisga'a day to day operations.
The Nisga'a government must consult with all residents of Nisga'a lands who are significantly and directly affected by its decisions. The treaty provides for solid, democratic and financial accountability mechanisms. All Nisga'a people will have a strong voice in the way they are governed. They will have opportunities to vote, to run for office and to participate in government institutions.
The fourth Reform misrepresentation is that the Nisga'a agreement creates inequality, disenfranchising non-Nisga'a people and providing for a system of taxation without representation. The taxation chapter of the agreement clearly shows otherwise. The first provision in that chapter clearly spells out the Nisga'a taxation authority:
Nisga'a Government may make laws in respect of direct taxation—