Good morning.

I was there in 1992 when then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Premier Mike Harcourt, the first nations summit leadership of Grand Chief Edward John, the late great Chief Joe Mathias, and Miles Richardson signed the agreement that created the BC Treaty Commission. I was a witness to that ceremony. I was very excited that through good faith negotiations we would resolve the outstanding land question, that we would create certainty, that in the creation of certainty we would create economic opportunity, and that we would realize social justice. That was in 1992.

Two treaties have been completed since then—two. Now we're looking at a third, and I have to ask, are you achieving certainty? Are you achieving social justice? Are you creating economic opportunity? The short answer to all those questions is no, we are not. It will not.

I'm told there are rules about language. I'm going to read two excerpts that I did not have time to get translated into French. They are from an article in the Chilliwack Progress, published Wednesday, August 17, 1938:

Over the burial site of many generations of Indians, a white cross now stands blessed and dedicated, at Yale, B.C., following a picturesque ceremony on Eayem reserve Sunday afternoon. Archbishop W. M. Duke carried out the dedication, watched by taciturn bucks in high-crowned hats, and squaws in shawls and gay velvets.

The language is pretty telling, very insulting and very racist. I'm here to tell you that racism still exists today. It exists in this room. It exists in the Department of Indian Affairs. It exists in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. It exists where I live in Chilliwack. That same attitude is alive and well. People may frown at the terms used in this article published in 1938, but the colonial thinking has not changed.

The closing of the article says:

The cross bears the inscription: ‘Eayem Memorial 1938 AD, Erected by the Stalo Indians. In memory of many hundreds of our forefathers buried here, this is one of our six ancient cemeteries within our five mile Native fishing grounds which we inherited from our ancestors. R.I.P.

You should ask yourselves where that memorial is today. Where is it? There's a picture of it. I'll tell you where it is. It's on the banks of the river. The Chief of Yale took a backhoe and destroyed the sacred monument. It put a lie to his story that he's not Stó:lo. I'll share this with you when I comply with your rules.

The Seabird band was made a band of Indians in 1958. Before 1958, it was a reserve held in common by seven Indian bands, including Yale. Those bands agreed to give up the Seabird reserve to create the Seabird band of Indians. The second elected chief of Seabird Island was Alfred Hope, grandfather of the current chief of Yale. Why that chief would deny his ancestry is beyond me.

In 1992, the government of the day launched the aboriginal fishing strategy. I negotiated the arrangements on behalf of the Stó:lo. I'm a little younger than Joe, but I've been working since 1980 for my people. Later this month I'll be 53. So it has been 32 years for me, too. I negotiated those arrangements. Soon after, we had an agreement with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Government of Canada, whereby we would be permitted to sell a portion of our catch without fear of prosecution.

Bob Hope went to court. He went to court to gain exclusive control of the five-mile fishery. He lost. I have to tell you, it was really strange sitting in that courtroom watching the Department of Justice lawyer, who was often in court against us and prosecuting us for fisheries offences. That same Department of Justice lawyer was standing up there defending our right to fish in the canyon. Rich with irony.

We're here today because Indian agents, with that same attitude of racism, didn't bother to do a little bit of due diligence. They didn't bother to do a little bit of homework and find out who they were dealing with. All they had to do was a little bit of research and they would have discovered this article. If they had looked at their own lands records and the creation of the Seabird band, they would have realized that this notion that Yale is not Stó:lo is a no-go. They would have known then that we're dealing with a family of 10,000, and while the rules permit Yale to proceed under the BC Treaty Commission, Yale is a small parcel of a very large family.

I agree with my brother Joe. We're not opposed to Yale securing a treaty. We have no issue with Yale pursuing a treaty. What we're concerned about is our section 35 rights. It's the highest law of this land. We have constitutionally protected rights that have been confirmed by the court. It has been argued by the Department of Justice that it's a right that belongs to us and it belongs to our citizens. It belongs to our families. It's a communal right. It doesn't belong to an Indian band; it belongs to the people.

I was so excited. I am one of those who support our national chief, Shawn Atleo. I'm one of those who supported him meeting with the Prime Minister to talk about the very important issues that are bubbling and maybe threatening to boil over. One of the things I was very excited about was the acknowledgement of the simple fact that the comprehensive claims policy of 1986 is entirely inadequate. A promise was made by the Prime Minister to work with the national chief, the Assembly of First Nations, and first nations to rewrite that policy, to make it work, to fix the problems that are preventing us from achieving good-faith negotiations under the auspices of the BC Treaty Commission.

I was a founding member of the BC Treaty Commission. I often tell people the jobs I've had, and I realize I shouldn't do that. That's why I didn't this morning. I often sound like someone who cannot hold a job. I've been chief of my own community. I've had four terms, eight years. I've been a senior manager for my tribal council and for the Stó:lo Nation. I'm a founding member of the BC Treaty Commission. I'm a founding member of the B.C. First Nations Leadership Council. I'm a past member of the First Nations Summit political executive. I'm a founding member of the B.C. First Nations Fisheries Council. I'm currently the chair of the First Nations Health Council.

I know all about negotiations. We negotiated a major deal with this government and the Province of British Columbia. I know how to do the work. I know how to do due diligence. I know how to get a deal that works for Canada, that works for the Province of British Columbia, and that works for B.C. first nations. I know how to do it because I've done it. The people you put at the tables don't know how. It's become a federal program with bureaucrats who have no training in negotiations, no training in conflict resolution, and no training in terms of creating win-wins. They have none of that. This, I'm afraid, is headed for serious conflict.

There are people who will say the Stó:lo can't get along. The fact that we're here together tells you differently. The fact that Joe and I were both willing to participate in a meaningful and real mediation process puts a lie to that. It's true that we fight amongst ourselves, and I'll you why. We fight first with Indian agents—always have, always will. A very close second is the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and federal fishery officers. It's neck and neck; sometimes we fight with federal fishery officers more than we fight with Indian agents. When we're not fighting Indian agents and when we're not fighting fishery officers, we fight amongst ourselves to stay in shape for the fights with the feds.

I'm not opposed to Yale securing a treaty. I am opposed to a treaty that tramples on the rights of 10,000 Stó:lo. I'm opposed to a treaty that does not create certainty. I'm opposed to a treaty that does not achieve social justice. I'm opposed to a treaty that does not create economic opportunity.

Thank you.

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