Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the House on Bill C-56, the Manitoba claims settlement implementation act. I am pleased to speak in support of this proposed legislation which will address outstanding commitments to Manitoba first nations and pave the way for greater economic self-reliance and self-government.
Hon. members will recall that when this government unveiled “Gathering Strength: Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan”, we made a commitment to renew the relationship with the aboriginal people of Canada. This is not a goal that can be achieved overnight. It will involve many steps, large and small. Bill C-56 is one such step.
The new partnership called for in Gathering Strength must be built on a foundation of trust and co-operation between Canada and first nations governments and communities. To establish that trust we must first of all fulfill our historical obligations to aboriginal people. Bill C-56 will help us do that for a number of Manitoba first nations. Although this proposed legislation is technical, its overriding objective is quite simple: to facilitate the implementation of claim agreements in Manitoba.
In doing this, Bill C-56 will address a number of specific commitments set out in Gathering Strength. It will affirm and honour treaties, which are the cornerstone of Canada's relationship with its aboriginal people. It will strengthen the capacity of first nations governments to make decisions about community lands and moneys as they move toward effective, legitimate and accountable self-government.
By overcoming obstacles that have slowed progress in the past, Bill C-56 will foster economic growth and development, consistent with our Gathering Strength commitment to support strong communities and people.
As hon. members can see, the bill has two parts. Part 1 deals with the flooded land master implementation agreement signed by the Norway House Cree Nation last year. Part 2 relates to the establishment of reserves in Manitoba under claim settlements, including treaty land entitlement agreements.
I want to make it clear at the outset that Bill C-56 will not give effect to any settlement agreement. The goal here is simply to ensure that land claim agreements, including those that may be negotiated in the future, can be implemented quickly and effectively.
I will review the key elements of Bill C-56 for the benefit of hon. members, particularly those across the way, who may not be familiar with the proposed legislation.
Part 1 of the bill is specific to a single Manitoba first nation, the Norway House Cree Nation. Hon. members will recall that Norway House was one of five Manitoba first nations that were severely affected by flooding caused by the hydroelectric projects in northern Manitoba in the early 1970s.
In an effort to address the devastating impact of the flooding on first nation communities, property and traditional livelihoods, Canada and other affected parties negotiated the northern flood agreement in 1977. Unfortunately the passage of time has shown the agreement to be flawed and difficult to implement. Despite years of effort, little progress was made in implementing many of its important and key elements.
In 1990 the parties to the northern flood agreement were able to reach consensus on a process for resolving the many outstanding issues. The proposed basis of settlement has provided a framework for negotiating master implementation agreements with four of the five affected first nations, the most recent being with Norway House.
I am pleased to report that the Norway House master implementation agreement is now being implemented. However, part 1 of Bill C-56 is needed to affirm certain elements of the agreement in law, just as previous legislation passed in this House has affirmed elements of the other three master implementation agreements.
Specifically Bill C-56 will ensure that any lands provided to Norway House in fee simple title will not become special reserves under section 36 of the Indian Act. This will enable the people of Norway House to use and control these lands as they see fit without the often burdensome administrative requirements the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development must impose under the Indian Act and other federal legislation and strict management rules.
In a similar vein, Bill C-56 will ensure that compensation moneys owed to Norway House will not be administered as Indian moneys under the Indian Act. Instead these moneys will be paid to and administered by a trust that has been established by the Norway House Cree Nation and which operates under its direction with proper accountability safeguards in place. Again, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development will have no role in managing these moneys.
These exemptions from the Indian Act will have two strategic outcomes. Most importantly they will increase the Norway House Cree Nation's self-reliance and self-government capabilities. At the same time they will lighten the administrative load for the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
The third thing this part of the legislation will do is give the master implementation agreement precedence over the northern flood agreement when a claim arises that could be settled or adjudicated under either agreement. The adjudication process set out in the master implementation agreement is widely regarded as being a superior approach.
Finally, part 1 of Bill C-56 will ensure that Canada has access to the provisions of the Manitoba Arbitration Act when dealing with disputes under the master implementation agreement.
The Norway House Cree Nation will also benefit from part 2 of the bill which is intended to advance the implementation of claim agreements in Manitoba by facilitating the transfer of lands to reserve status.
Gathering Strength calls for the development of vibrant on reserve economies. In order to do that we need to expedite the process of establishing reserves.
By way of background, part 2 of Bill C-56 has its origins in the issue of treaty land entitlements. As hon. members are aware, not all first nations received the full amount of land promised to them when they signed their treaties. For the past several years this government has been working to resolve this historical injustice by providing additional reserve lands to first nations with treaty land entitlements, including 26 first nations in Manitoba.
As part of this process, it has become clear that we need better legislative mechanisms to facilitate the transfer of lands to reserve status. Toward this end, part 2 of Bill C-56 will empower the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to set apart as reserves any of the lands selected by Manitoba first nations under a claim agreement. This will avoid the lengthy and cumbersome process of obtaining an order in council which is the approach currently used to establish reserve status.
However, the main objective of part 2 is to establish more effective mechanisms for accommodating and protecting third party interests that are identified during the reserve creation process. This will give first nations reasonable access to a broader range of lands that have development interests or potential. It will also significantly reduce the time required to add lands to reserves.
The sooner lands are identified and added to the reserve, the sooner they can contribute to the economic and social progress of the community. The key is to allow a first nation to consent to a third party interest on lands it wants to add to the reserve before those lands have actually been granted reserve status. The current wording of the Indian Act does not allow for this. A first nation can only consent to the creation of interests on land that is already part of the reserve, not on land that is simply being proposed for reserve status.
This effectively eliminates from consideration many parcels of land that have an existing third party interest, even something as basic as a right-of-way. The first nation cannot deal with the third party interest until the land is granted reserve status. The holder of that interest is unlikely to agree to the transactions without a guarantee from the first nation that its future rights will not be at risk.
Bill C-56 addresses the issue by giving Manitoba first nations a pre-reserve designation power as well as a pre-reserve permit granting power, each power being aimed at accommodating different kinds of third party interests. It also deals with the process first nations must follows to grant such interests.
The pre-reserve powers will not only apply to existing interests but will also allow a first nation to negotiate new rights that will come into effect upon reserve creation. This will ensure that first nations can take advantage of the development opportunities on their selected lands even before the reserve status is granted.
As I noted earlier, the impetus for the legislative changes set out in part 2 of the bill has been the desire of Canada, the Government of Manitoba and first nations to expedite the settlement of treaty land entitlement. At the same time these mechanisms will be made available to all other Manitoba claim settlement agreements, existing or future, that involve additions to reserves. These include the Norway House master implementation agreement dealt with in part 1 of Bill C-56, as well as the other three master implementation agreements signed under the northern flood agreement.
As a treaty land entitlement first nation Norway House will also benefit from the proposals to facilitate the transfer of lands to reserve status, which explains my earlier comment that Norway House will benefit from both parts of Bill C-56.
There is nothing controversial about the proposed legislation. It does not create new powers for first nations governments. Nor does it impose new obligations on Canadian taxpayers. In fact it will do the opposite by relieving the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development of some if its administrative responsibilities and by speeding the process of reserve creation. It also establishes clear cut legal mechanisms for protecting both third party and first nations interests in lands selected for additional reserves.
This is simply a good, clean piece of legislation that will move Canada forward in addressing its commitments to aboriginal people, strengthening the capacity for self-government and improving socioeconomic conditions on reserves. It deserves the support of hon. members, particularly hon. members of the Reform Party. I urge them to join me in voting to send Bill C-56 to committee for proper, due and quick review.
