Friends of the Lubicon
PO Box 444 Stn D,
Etobicoke ON M9A 4X4
Tel: (416) 763-7500
Email: fol (at) tao (dot) ca
www.lubicon.ca
October 26, 2005
To support the Lubicon presentation at the United Nations Human Rights Committee, high school students from Cardinal Newman and Cardinal Carter Catholic High Schools in Toronto traveled to Ottawa on October 17th.
Carrying what they call the "pipeline of hope" and signs saying "Land Rights Now" and "Aboriginal Rights are Human Rights", the students rallied on Parliament Hill for two hours of chanting, speeches and pamphleting to bring their message to the federal government. They were joined by Outaouais Lubicon Solidarity and the Sierra Youth Coalition.
The "pipeline of hope" is a 75 metre long cardboard pipeline covered by a cloth banner bearing the signatures of hundreds of high school students who wrote messages of support for the Lubicon people. At the end of the day, the banner was presented to Reinie Jobin, from the Lubicon Elders Council, who was on hand to speak to the students.
The students also heard from federal Members of Parliament Bernard Cleary (Bloc Quebecois) and Charlie Angus (New Democratic Party), who spoke in support of the Lubicon people and demanded that Canada negotiate a settlement in good faith.
Several students delivered speeches and read poems dedicated to the Lubicon people. A copy of an excellent speech by one of the Cardinal Newman students is attached below.
This event, and more like it, are necessary to bring the government of Canada back to the table with a mandate to negotiate a full and final Lubicon settlement in good faith.
A story from Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is also attached below.
Some photographs of the event are available here.
October 17, 2005, Parliament Hill
Good Afternoon ladies and gentlemen, my fellow classmates, and honoured members of Parliament. My name is Ryan Nutter, and as you know I am from Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School in Toronto.
When I first began working to support the Lubicon Cree of Northern Alberta, of course my pessimistic attitude somewhat got the best of me… What affect and influence could a group of high school students have on a multi-billion dollar corporation and a few bureaucrats in Ottawa?
Well, we as a group have come a long way since we were first introduced to the cause. Today, we stand on Parliament Hill, beneath the Peace Tower overshadowed by a building of exquisite beauty that represents itself as a symbol of freedom and democracy to the entire world. If I may quote the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - "in a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check", a cheque that needs to be not only issued to the people of the Lubicon nation, but also to every Canadian who has been taken advantage of by someone in a better position than them - whether it be through social or economic circumstances, everyone has experienced a feeling of helplessness at some time in their lives, and it is important to let the Lubicon people know that they are not alone.
I can confidently speak for everyone when I say that we are not willing to accept that the bank of moral decency is running on insufficient funds — because each of us here today know that this 13 Billion dollar savings account is still actively growing.
Some of you may, or may not know that I come from a heritage of diverse culture, half of which belongs to the Mi’qmak first nation of North America’s East Coast. I personally, was not only shocked and appalled to hear what was happening in our very own backyard, but I was even more sickened by the fact that the very government who has been under great criticism and pressure this past year has been siding with these major corporations to exploit the Lubicon people of everything that could benefit their community.
The obligation I felt to join this cause was just incredibly overwhelming — I felt that I owed it to myself to work for something that would offer me a sense of self-fulfillment, but also to my fellow Canadians, which include my native brothers and sisters who are time and time again stripped of everything they own, including their land, their culture, and most importantly, their dignity.
At Cardinal Newman and throughout the Catholic Secondary schools of Toronto, there are networks of youth and teachers committed to social justice issues that both affect them and the world they live in. As one of those students, I have come to take pride in knowing that there are many people like us across Ontario and Canada that keep our eyes and ears open to the unfairness that plagues our world.
This past weekend, I attended an all day seminar at Scarboro Missions in Toronto that focused on social justice issues, and why there is an imperative need to get youth involved in taking on leadership opportunities in hopes of making society a better place not just for themselves, but for everyone regardless of any indifferences. If all of us had turned our backs to the Lubicon people, and ignored this great call to change, we would not only be failing to live up to our duty as Canadians, but we would be failing to live up to the destiny that God has bestowed upon us here today. And as we leave the capital to set out on our journey back to our respective communities, it is important for us to remember the words of a 19th century human rights advocate, Lucy Stone:
"Now all we need is to continue to speak the truth fearlessly, and we shall add to our number those who will turn the scale to the side of equal and full justice in all things."
Thank you for your attention, and it was an honour for me to speak to you here today.
Primetime edition
Host: Nola Wuttunee
Nola Wuttunee: Hello, I’m Nola Wuttunee and this is the APTN National News Primetime for Monday, October 17, 2005. Our top story is in Ottawa. Some non-Native youth marched on Parliament Hill today. A group of catholic high school students hope to pressure Canada into resolving the 50-year old Lubicon land claim. For more than 30 years, the government has allowed oil companies onto the Lubicon’s unceded land. While the oil companies have earned billions, the Lubicon are among the poorest of Canadians. The students hope they can be a new force in this long-standing injustice. Karen Pugliese has more.
[chanting "no land rights, no justice"]
Karen Pugliese: They’re a small group, but together, they have a loud voice. Tahnee Pantig first heard about the Lubicon plight through her school’s Amnesty club.
Tahnee Pantig, student: When we heard about what the Lubicon people had experienced we just thought it was absolutely horrific, and considering the fact that it’s happening right in our homeland is absolutely devastating.
Pugliese: So she and about twenty other students traveled here from Toronto to protest Canada’s treatment of the Lubicon. They passed out pamphlets and pens, encouraging others to sign their support. Bernard Cleary of the Bloc Quebecois, and Charlie Angus of the NDP joined the protest.
Charlie Angus, MP (Timmins-James Bay): Don’t ever let anyone tell you that these issues are more complex than you’ll understand…
Pugliese: While the youth were in high spirits, they fell quiet when a Lubicon elder took the mic.
Reinie Jobin, Lubicon Elders Council: … my slumlord, it’s the Minister of Indian Affairs and the Government of Canada.
Pugliese: Reinie Jobin says even sanctions from the UN have failed to force Canada to solve the claim. Now protests like these are his people’s only hope.
Ryan Nutter, student: We are not willing to accept that the bank of moral decency is running on insufficient funds.
Pugliese: Ryan Nutter says justice for the Lubicon should matter to all Canadians.
Nutter: As Canadians, we all have a moral responsibility to work together to solve the problems of society.
[chanting: "L-U-B-I-C-O-N, Lubicon! Lubicon!]
Pugliese: Ryan and the others will continue to protest and raise awareness after they return home, hoping their young generation may finally right an old wrong. Karen Pugliese, APTN National News, Ottawa.
Nola Wuttunee: Kevin Thomas is a negotiator for the Lubicon Cree. He joined us from our Ottawa bureau to give us the latest update. Welcome to the show, Mr. Thomas.
Kevin Thomas: Thank you.
Wuttunee: Now it seems to me that just before Prime Minister Chretien left office that this settlement with the Lubicon was getting quite close to being settled, and it seems now that there are a couple of sticking points according to the Lubicon and the federal government, which are compensation and self-government. Can you tell us a little more about that?
Thomas: Well, there have been no negotiations since Paul Martin came to office, so it’s been two years now that we haven’t been at the table. The sticking points are self-government and compensation primarily. In terms of compensation, the federal government negotiators say that they’ve "run out of mandate", they have no more money to put on the table. In terms of self-government, they say similarly that they’ve also run out of mandate, that is they can’t make any different offer than what they’ve made already. The Lubicons, of course, are saying "if you don’t have a mandate, go get one. That’s not our problem, that’s yours". Unfortunately two years on, the federal negotiators still don’t have a mandate to negotiate — even while Paul Martin goes around saying this is a "top priority" for his government.
Wuttunee: It seems to me that when the federal government does eventually settle a claim, issues like self-government are separate, and there’s a separate negotiation process that goes on. Why are the Lubicons so unaccepting of that?
Thomas: This is a problem across the country, not just for the Lubicons. The way the federal government approaches self-government is that if you "aspire to be self-governing", as they put it, then you can come and ask for some rights back from the federal government. The Lubicons, of course, don’t see it that way. They are self-governing and they want to retain their self-government post-settlement. So while there are long-term negotiations over implementation and how the different jurisdictions can operate together, the basic idea that the Lubicons have rights which they retain has to be reflected in the land rights settlement. The federal government isn’t willing to accept that. In fact they even have instructions, which we obtained, Department of Justice instructions for their negotiators which give them instructions on how to negotiate in bad faith. That is, to negotiate self-government clauses in agreements that have no legal weight or effect. And that’s why we’re at a stalling point here, because if the federal government is not willing to send people to the table who are willing to negotiate self-government in good faith, we can’t really negotiate with them at all.
Wuttunee: Okay, now what are the next steps for the Lubicon, Kevin?
Thomas: The Lubicon have waited patiently for the federal government to send people back to the table, and that’s gotten us nowhere, so now I think we’ve got to raise a little hell. The Lubicons have gone to the United Nations today to ask the Human Rights Committee to bring Canada to bear on this issue, to again condemn them, as they did in 1990, for failing to live up to their human rights obligations to the Lubicon people. Beyond that, I think we’ll have to be on Parliament Hill, we’ll have to be working with opposition politicians. All three opposition parties have asked the federal government to send their negotiators back to the table.
Wuttunee: Yes, yes, a lot of work still ahead of you. Well we thank you very much for joining us today.
Thomas: Thank you.
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