Lubicon Lake Indian Nation Little Buffalo Lake, AB 403-629-3945 FAX: 403-629-3939 Mailing address: 3536 - 106 Street Edmonton, AB T6J 1A4 403-436-5652 FAX: 403-437-0719 December 1, 1990 Enclosed for your information is a copy of a newspaper article quoting Federal Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon as saying that the U.N. Human Rights complaint against Canada is "insupportable". Enclosed also are copies of related letters to the editor of the Edmonton Journal and the Alberta Press Council from a man who's obviously read the Committee's Lubicon decision and followed the ensuing public debate. If more Canadian citizens were as well informed as the man writing the two enclosed letters, there'd be fewer lying Canadian politicians. Being well informed is clearly a responsibility which weighs particularly heavy on Canadian citizens under the government of Prime Minister "Lyin' Brian" Mulroney. ***************************************************************************** The Edmonton Journal, Thursday, November 08, 1990 NO END IN SIGHT IN DISPUTE OVER LAND CLAIM -- SIDDON Jac MacDonald Journal Staff Writer Edmonton Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon says he doesn't know when a solution will be found for logging, and oil and gas companies shut out of lands claimed by the Lubicon Lake Band in northern Alberta. "I can't speculate on how long it will take," Siddon said at a news conference Wednesday at the Nisku Inn. "I hope that Chief (Bernard) Ominayak and the council will be prepared to sit down and hopefully we will be able to negotiate and conclude an agreement on a reasonable basis." At least one logging company has told The Journal 10 to 15 people won't be working this winter as a result of a decision to avoid a confrontation with the band by staying out of the 10,000-sq.-km area they claim. Petro-Canada and Norcen Energy are losing millions of dollars with their equipment idle. Siddon said the Lubicon demand is "vastly in excess" of what Ottawa feels is justified. The band seeks a $167 million settlement and a 246-sq.-km reserve. Ottawa is offering $45 million and the opportunity to go to court for more. The case presented by the Lubicon to a United Nations committee was found to be insupportable, Siddon said. The human rights committee found the band's life and culture were threatened, but rejected their claims that they were the victims of genocide, a biased court system and economic devastation. It concluded the federal offer was an "appropriate remedy". ***************************************************************************** Alberta Press Council Calgary 20-11-90 Dear Sir, This article which appeared in the Edmonton Journal, Nov. 08, 1990, contains inaccurate and misleading statements. The UN Human Rights Committee did not reject the Lubicon complaint that they were the victims of a biased court system. The committee upheld an earlier decision which found that the band cannot achieve effective legal redress within Canada. Page 28, paragraph 31.1 of UN report. The committee did not conclude that the federal offer (final offer) was an appropriate remedy. In the UN report, page 29, paragraph 33 it reads, The State party proposes to rectify the situation by a remedy that the committee deems appropriate within the meaning of article 2 of the covenant. This was translated by a committee official to mean: Both sides should continue to negotiate in good faith. The committee official was quoted in the following newspapers: Globe and Mail, May 4th 1990. Ottawa Citizen, May 4th 1990. Edmonton Journal, May 10th 1990. Yours Sincerely, John Hamer 3924 43 Ave. Red Deer, AB T4N 3B9 cc: Bernard Ominayak, Georges Erasmus, Tom Siddon, Robert Skelly ***************************************************************************** The Edmonton Journal, Sunday, November 25, 1990 Letters to the Editor: LUBICONS' TO DECIDE VIABILITY OF LIFESTYLE The Minister of Indian affairs (No end in sight in dispute over land claim -- Siddon, Journal, Nov. 8) appears to be trying to downplay the UN human rights committee decision regarding the plight of the Lubicon Indians. The committee found Lubicon life and culture to be threatened by continued industrial development, and reconfirmed a decision that the Band cannot achieve effective legal redress in Canada. For the Minister to suggest the Lubicons have an opportunity to go to court for more, if they accept the government's current final offer, is ludicrous. The UN concluded that negotiations are an appropriate remedy and not the arrogant take-it-or-leave-it offer by the federal government. Tom Siddon said Ottawa feels that Lubicon demands are excessive -- which is another example of bureaucratic arrogance. If anyone knows what is necessary for the Lubicons to maintain a viable lifestyle it is the Indians, not a bunch of carpet-baggers from the capital. The amount of their traditional, unceded homeland that the Lubicons are willing to share with the federal government is for the band to decide. I'm sure the owners of Daishowa don't allow interlopers on their family estates in Japan or Hawaii, so they should have no trouble understanding the absence of the Lubicon welcome mat; likewise, oil developers who live the good life by taking Lubicon resources. Siddon should not have to be reminded that his lot in life at the moment requires that he protect aboriginal rights. Daishowa is a corporation, Norcen is a corporation, Petro Canada is a corporation. The Lubicons are a people. John Hamer Red Deer