Mr. Speaker, because of the time allocation brought forward by the government I would like to thank my colleagues from other provinces for giving me an opportunity to speak. This is an issue that is very vital to the people of British Columbia. Certainly the people in my constituency of Kootenay-Columbia have made their voices well known to me. They have expressed very clearly to me that they are adamantly and fundamentally opposed to the treaty as written.
I agree with B.C. Liberal leader Gordon Campbell on the title of his news release today: “Closure on the Nisga'a debate, a reprehensible abuse of democracy”.
Many things have to be brought into this dialogue. Unfortunately it is a monologue as far as the Liberals and the other parties in the House are concerned. We are the only people who are bringing a dialogue portion to the debate.
I have in hand a very interesting document from the ministry of agriculture and food. It is a briefing note prepared by a bureaucrat in the B.C. government for none other than the agriculture minister, Corky Evans. Corky Evans is no ordinary minister. Corky Evans is trying for the leadership of the B.C. NDP.
This document was prepared for him by the ministry of agriculture when he was in debate with my colleague from Kootenay—Boundary—Okanagan. It is very interesting that the document puts a lie to the argument that the treaty will not be a template. I heard earlier a Conservative, who perhaps was speaking out of ignorance, repeating the same line that the Liberals have been trying to say and that the NDP have been trying to say, that this is not a template. This document puts a lie to that argument. It states in part:
Impacts on current agriculture uses of Crown resources will result if the Nisga'a land selection model is repeated.
Further in the document it states:
The provinces believes it would be unfair and unjustifiable to negotiate future treaties that are significantly more or less beneficial to the First Nations than the Nisga'a treaty. This suggests the Nisga'a final agreement will serve as a guide for land and cash values.
This document was prepared for the NDP minister of agriculture, an aspiring leader of the provincial NDP, in which it says that the province believes it would be unfair and unjustifiable to negotiate future treaties that are significantly more or less beneficial to first nations than the Nisga'a treaty. This is a template. Any comment to the contrary is simply not factually accurate. This is a template in every way.
Further in terms of dislocation the document was very interesting in that it says in part:
There are likely to be significant localized disruptions to individual ranchers within close proximity to existing First Nations communities. In the Southern Okanagan there are over 1,000 farms with Crown tenures within 10 kilometres of existing Indian reserves. This buffer also contains 69% of the ALR.
The ALR for my friends across the House who might not realize it is the agriculture land reserve. This is the area where farmers and ranchers in British Columbia, the people who own that property, be whatever race or nation they belong to, are creating food for British Columbians, for Canadians and for export, 69%.
The briefing note prepared for the B.C. minister of agriculture by his department goes on further to state:
Former Premier Harcourt stated that the total land quantum to be transferred to first nations would be in the range of 5% of the total land base, an area larger than the total ALR”. This amount of land would likely consume the majority of crown ALR (approximately 2.5 million hectares).
These are facts supported by the document which I have brought to the House. If my friends on the other side want me to table the document for authenticity purposes, I would be happy to do so. These are facts which are simply never put into the public domain by the Liberals, by the NDP, by the Bloc or by the Conservatives because it does not suit their interest.
There is an issue of accountability to this entire process. When I came to the Chamber some six years ago I came possibly under the myth that we could stand to talk about issues directly and forcefully. That turned out to be a myth because of the labels other people in the House chose to throw in our direction, simply because we chose to put out the facts and to tell the truth.
As the member for Kootenay—Columbia I am approached by people who are card carrying aboriginal people or people living off reserve or non-status individuals. I take great pride that virtually to a person these people come up to me with a smile and shake my hand because my office and I have tried our level best to work with them against the Indian industry that is represented in my constituency.
Obviously I do not make many friends with the leadership, but I do make friends with the rank and file, the ordinary citizen of aboriginal descent. It is my responsibility to represent that person every bit as much as it is my responsibility to represent non-aboriginal people in my constituency. I do not take favours from anyone. I represent people and these people recognize that.
As a result we have been approached by a number of aboriginal people in my constituency who would like to get a number of their grievances out into the open. These are aboriginal people approaching me. With my colleague from Wild Rose we pulled together a forum conducted by me and the member for Wild Rose as chairpersons only. Virtually every comment made in that forum was by rank and file aboriginal people from the five nations represented in my constituency.
What a tale they told. They were prepared to stand up in the face of their government hierarchy on their reserves and tell it like it actually was. Where is the accountability? The accountability is in my constituency, and I suggest in all of the constituencies represented by Reform Party members, because we permit ordinary aboriginal people to say their piece. There must be accountability.
One recent disappointment occurred in the aboriginal file. I listened to the very thoughtful presentation of the Leader of the Opposition. I must say I was exceptionally proud of his speech because it was so thoughtful and well researched. He talked about breaking the old mould. Unfortunately the bright light in the Bloc that followed him stood and said that it was some more rhetoric.
Maybe there was a problem between French and English and he could not understand it, or he was not listening to the interpreter. However, the fact of the matter is that the Leader of the Opposition had the courage of conviction, intelligence and foresight to present a new idea, a new model. The Nisga'a agreement does nothing except represent a rehashing of the cud, going over and over the same ground.
There are many flaws in the Nisga'a treaty. Yet under the NDP government in Victoria members of parliament went through thoughtful clause by clause debate and looked at all the issues. They were shut off just over halfway through. Now we have ended up with the government, led by the House leader who with great glee turns around and shuts off debate after only four hours in this Chamber. It is absolutely shameful that the government would twist democracy in this way. There is no democracy in this Chamber.
If we are to come to a way of making sure, as my colleague from Calgary—Nose Hill said, that women are properly protected; if we are to make sure the people of the Nisga'a nation are properly protected; if we are to see that the rank and file people of that nation have all of the rights and privilege we enjoy, we must reject the treaty. It is the direction of myself and my colleagues in the Reform Party that we will do everything to reveal the treaty for the sham it is.