Attachment #13: August 6, 1992, letter to Tom Siddon from Chief Bernard Ominayak Dear Sir: The Lubicon people have now reviewed the documents you presented to me on July 24th and I'm sad to say that supposedly new Federal Government settlement proposals represent little that's new and fall far short of claims made for them in both your cover letter and publicly by representatives of the Federal Government. You claim in your cover letter that supposedly new Federal Government settlement proposals "amounts to more than $73 million based on (the Lubicon) estimate of 500 band members". Moreover the related document you gave me entitled "Comparison of Federal (1989) (take-it-or-leave-it) Offer (and) Federal (1992) (equivalency) Offer" claims that the 1992 "equivalency" offer represents "substantially increased up-front funding" over the 1989 "take-it-or-leave-it" offer as well as an "over-all increase of $8,479,400". None of these statements are accurate. THE IMPACT OF INFLATION Lubicon settlement proposals are all calculated in 1988 dollars based on actual cost estimates. Federal proposals are all based on 1992 dollars. The documents you presented to me on July 24th treat 1988 and 1992 dollars as basically having the same value, which clearly isn't the case. In order to produce the $73 million dollar number the documents you presented to me on July 24th add $38.3 million in 1992 dollars from the Federal Government for capital construction (worth about $24.2 million in 1988 dollars), a dubious $12.5 million in 1992 dollars from the Federal Government for commercial and agricultural development (worth at a maximum about $8.6 million in 1988 dollars), $2.5 million in 1992 dollars from the Federal Government for a so-called "incentive to sign" (worth about $1.7 million in 1988 dollars), an un-indexed $5 million from the Provincial Government over a ten year period (worth about $2.3 million in 1988 dollars), a soft $3 million in 1992 dollars which may or may not be available from the Provincial Government for construction of the proposed community shop/vocational training centre (worth at a maximum about $2 million in 1988 dollars), $1 million from the Provincial Government to build a Provincial Government road to provide the Provincial Government with access to the shores and bed of Lubicon Lake ala the Grimshaw Agreement (not included in Lubicon settlement proposals for obvious reasons), and a highly offensive $10.5 million "contribution" supposedly from the Provincial Government which your cover letter describes as "the value of (proposed Lubicon reserve) land at current market prices." Needless to say these numbers don't add up to the claimed "more than $73 million" any way you cut it, even if one accepts at face value the transparent attempt to pump up the numbers by throwing in things like the cost of the Provincial government road required by the Provincial Government in any case and charging the Lubicon people for our own land. "UP-FRONT FUNDING" The "substantially increased up-front funding" claimed in the "Comparison" document pertains basically to "socio-economic" or commercial and agricultural development. It claims that the 1989 "take- it-or-leave-it" offer was worth $10,675,0 and that the 1992 "equivalency" offer is worth $12,500,000 -- a supposed increase of $1.8 million. In fact the 1989 "take-it-or-leave-it" offer didn't provide the claimed $10,675,000 at all but rather: THE INTEREST ON A $5 MILLION DOLLAR FUND (supposedly to be used by the Lubicon people as "seed" money in applying for normal Government programs and services); AGREEMENT-IN-PRINCIPLE FOR UP TO A MAXIMUM OF ANOTHER $4 MILLION for commercial development (provided that the Lubicons apply to normal Government programs and meet normal program requirements); UP TO A MAXIMUM OF ANOTHER $500,000 OVER A 5 YEAR PERIOD for "staff support and other resources required" (the actual amount to be determined God knows how); UP TO A MAXIMUM OF ANOTHER $25,000 for "planning and legal fees to reconfigure (the Lubicon management structure)" (the actual amount again to be determined God knows how); UP TO A MAXIMUM OF $50,000 to "undertake an assessment of (on- reserve) sand and gravel deposits" (the actual amount again determined God knows how); UP TO A MAXIMUM OF $100,000 for a joint Government/Lubicon Committee to study detailed Lubicon agricultural development proposals worth over $18 million; THE INTEREST ON A $500,000 FUND to cover the cost of the proposed "Trapper's Support Program" (creatively re-titled by Government bureaucrats a "Trapper's Transition Fund"); UP TO A MAXIMUM OF ANOTHER $100,000 to cover academic up-grading and on-the-job training (as determined by a so-called joint Government/ Lubicon "team"); UP TO A MAXIMUM OF ANOTHER $400,000 which might possibly be provided over a three year period, provided that agreement can be achieved on a jointly prepared Government/Lubicon "human resource development program plan", and provided that the Lubicons can successfully negotiate training funds from the Federal Department of Manpower and Immigration based on that jointly prepared "human resource development plan", and provided that the Lubicon people can then match the Government's "up to $400,000" with up to $400,000 of our own. How one could possibly determine the dollar worth of such gibberish, either in total or "up-front", is anybody's guess. The Government's 1992 "equivalency" offer is admittedly simpler but hardly more reassuring. It provides $25,000 for each Lubicon somehow determined by the Government to be "eligible to receive socio-economic funds". If there are really 500 eligible Lubicons as claimed by the Lubicons, it says, the result would be a maximum of the $12.5 million used in the "Comparison" document you gave me on July 24th. However, as the 1992 "equivalency" offer also makes abundantly clear -- dependent upon whatever as yet unspecified criteria might be used by the Federal Government to determine so-called "eligibility" to be counted in the proposed socio-economic development funding formula -- the number of supposedly "eligible" Lubicons could range anywhere from the 7 or less claimed by the Province to be "eligible" a few years ago to the "between 250 and 300" claimed by the Federal Government to be "eligible" last fall in its Alberta Report propaganda piece. Contrary to the impression deliberately created by the documents you presented to me on July 24th, reliable inside Government sources advise us that 300 people or about $7.5 million in 1992 dollars -- worth about $5.1 million in 1988 dollars -- is in fact the number that the Federal Government has in mind). Thus while it technically isn't possible to assess the value of the 1992 "equivalency" offer with regard to commercial and agricultural development, at least not without additional information about the criteria the Federal Government proposes to use to determine so-called "eligibility", best Lubicon information suggests that the 1992 "equivalency" offer in fact has a value of about $7.5 million in 1992 dollars or about $5.1 million in 1988 dollars -- certainly not something which could be accurately described as "substantially increased up-front funding" over whatever value one might somehow attribute to the socio- economic section of the 1989 "take-it-or-leave-it" offer. CLAIMED "OVERALL INCREASE" The Government "Comparison" document calculates the total value of the 1989 "take-it-or-leave-it" offer at $46,539,000 and the total value of the 1992 so-called "equivalency" offer at $55,018,400 -- a claimed overall increase of $8,479,400. In arriving at these figures the "Comparison" document says that it has adjusted capital construction costs to take inflation into account (which isn't true), is presuming that there are 500 Lubicons "entitled" to be counted for purposes of calculating the $25,000 per capita in economic development monies (although reliable inside Government sources advise that the Government is only prepared to count between 250 and 300 as "entitled"), and that the Government has added another $2.5 million as a so-called "incentive to settle". Even if one takes these Federal Government numbers at face value, which one clearly cannot do with regard to such things as proposed socio- economic funding, the Federal numbers are comparing 1988 dollars in the so-called "take-it-or-leave-it" offer to 1992 dollars in the so-called "equivalency" offer. When one really adjusts the numbers to take into account the impact of inflation, the so-called "equivalency" offer has a claimed value of only $37,742,622 in 1988 dollars compared to a claimed value of $46,539,000 in 1988 dollars for the so-called "take-it-or-leave- it" offer -- an effective loss of $8,796,378 instead of the claimed overall increase of $8,479,400. MEMBERSHIP Although the "Comparison" document conveniently fails to mention it, the 1992 so-called "equivalency" offer returns to both the unacceptable "counted-once rule" (with regard to the socio-economic funding formula) and to the equally unacceptable condition that the Federal Government must "verify who on the Band's membership list are eligible to participate in the adhesion". The agreement made in December of 1988, which was predictably not spelled out very clearly in the so-called "take-it-or-leave-it" offer but neither is it denied, provided that all Lubicons on the Lubicon determined membership list are entitled to adhere, and that everybody who adheres thereby becomes entitled to both the full benefits of the settlement agreement and of treaty status. In this regard the so-called "equivalency" offer represents significant regression over the progress made during negotiations in December of 1988. CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION Excepting only some relatively minor, seemingly almost inadvertent differences the capital construction section of the supposedly new "equivalency" offer is essentially the same as so-called Federal books one and two, which were essentially the same as the so-called "take-it- or-leave-it" offer. For example Program Planning and Management has inexplicably decreased $5,000 from $1,585,000 to $1,580,000. Inflation adjustment has decreased over $650,000 from $3,680,767 to $3,019,100. Instead of simply deleting development of a natural gas utility, as was done in Federal books one and two, the supposedly new "equivalency" offer indicates that development of a natural gas utility is "subject to further discussions". (As the Lubicon people have pointed out many times to seemingly uncomprehending Federal negotiators, "subject to further discussions" is not an "offer".) Regarding construction of a combined community shop/vocational training centre, the supposedly new "equivalency" offer no longer attaches a letter from Regional Indian Affairs Director General Gary Wouters to Lubicon lawyer Bob Sachs saying that the Province is considering a proposal from an unknown source -- certainly not the Lubicon people -- to contribute up to a million dollars towards the addition of an industrial arts shop on the proposed high school. Instead it says cryptically that "Options may exist to incorporate these facilities into the proposed school design to enhance the usage of both facilities". Presumably the latter is just a deliberately less explicit way of saying the former. In neither case do we have a serious proposal for construction of the absolutely essential combined community shop/vocational training centre. On water supply we were disappointed to see that the supposedly new "equivalency" offer repeats earlier rejected Federal proposals to haul water from Cadotte or Joker Lake. SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Even assuming that one accepts without question the highly dubious $10,675,000 socio-economic (commercial and agricultural development) number claimed for the "take-it-or-leave-it" offer, and the equally dubious $12,500,000 number used in the supposedly new "equivalency" offer, just the impact of inflation reduces the claimed $12.5 million in 1992 dollars to only $8,575,000 in 1988 dollars -- an effective loss of over $2 million from the $10,675,000 claimed for the "take-it-or-leave- it" offer. In addition there are a number of significant differences between the socio-economic development proposals discussed contained in the so-called "equivalency" offer and proposals tabled with the Lubicon people by representatives of the Federal Government following our June 5th meeting. Proposals tabled with the Lubicons by representatives of the Federal Government following our June 5th meeting were for a flat $20 million in up-front 1988 dollars not tied to a per capita formula. The proposal contained in the so-called "equivalency" offer is $25,000 per capita in 1992 dollars for each Lubicon somehow determined by the Federal Government to be entitled to be counted, for a maximum of $8,575,000 in 1988 dollars from the Federal Government, plus an additional un-indexed $5 million over a ten year period or $2,325,500 in 1988 dollars from the Provincial Government. Proposals tabled with the Lubicons by representatives of the Federal Government following our June 5th meeting also were to invest the $20 million in up-front 1988 dollars ($29 million in 1992 dollars) at an estimated 10% return and then draw on it annually over a 9 year period in line with Lubicon cash flow projections. Using this approach it would be possible for the Lubicons to cover proposed commercial and agricultural developments worth over $23 million during the course of a 9 year development period. However covering proposed Lubicon commercial and agricultural developments over a 9 year period or any other period is not possible with the approach contained in the so-called new "equivalency" offer. Even if one were to assume that the Lubicons would receive the maximum possible amount under the per capita formula of $8,575,000 in 1988 dollars from the Federal Government, and the Provincial Government actually provided the $2,325,500 in 1988 dollars up-front instead of at the rate of an un-indexed $500,000 per year for a period of ten years, the proposals contained in the supposedly new "equivalency" offer would only provide the Lubicons with funds to cover the costs of the first three of a projected 9 year commercial and agricultural development period. Interestingly the concluding paragraphs on the socio-economic section of the supposedly new "equivalency" offer speculate about what would happen if the Federal Government somehow determines that there are only 300 Lubicons entitled to be counted in the $25,000 per capita socio-economic formula, generating only $7.5 million in 1992 dollars instead of the $12.5 million used in the "Comparison" document obviously for propaganda purposes. In this case, it says, the proposed socio-economic fund would reach a deficit position in year 6 of the proposed 9 year commercial and agricultural development period. Actually $7.5 million in 1992 dollars is only $5,145,000 in 1988 dollars and the proposed fund would be fully expended at the end of the second year of a proposed 9 year commercial and agricultural development period. The supposedly new "equivalency" offer then goes on to assert that a loss of $5 million ($12.5 to $7.5) resulting from the Government only counting 300 out of 500 Lubicons to be entitled to be counted for determining socio-economic funding "could be compensated for if enhanced by the $2.5 million compensation floor referred to by the Minister", which, it says, is described in a note on page 1 of the supposedly new "equivalency" offer. We would appreciate an explanation of how a $5 million dollar loss can be made up with a $2.5 million "compensation floor". There is no descriptive note on page 1 of the supposedly new "equivalency" offer. "If the Federal offer were reduced because of a reduction in the population figures from 500 to 300", the supposedly new "equivalency" offer says, "one could argue that the band's economic plan should be likewise reduced from $23.1 million (in 1988 dollars) to $13.9 million" ($7.5 million in 1992 dollars worth about $5.1 million in 1988 dollars from the Federal Government; $5 million in un-indexed dollars to be provided by the Provincial Government over a ten year period worth about $2.3 million in 1988 dollars; the remaining $1.4 to $6.5 million being another mystery we'd like explained). We would also like to know how it would be possible for us to reduce the cost of socio-economic plans designed to support a population of 500 people just because the Federal Government somehow determines that 200 of our people supposedly aren't entitled to be counted for purposes of calculating the Federal Government's proposed $25,000 per capita socio- economic development funding formula. Lastly the Federal Government's supposedly new "equivalency" offer says that "the inflationary factor" between Lubicon proposals worth $23.1 million in 1988 dollars and Federal and Provincial proposals worth about $7.4 million in 1988 dollars ($5.1 million from the Federal Government and $2.3 million from the Provincial Government) can somehow be offset "with earned interest" resulting from "advancing the Federal/Provincial resources for socio-economic development up-front". Aside from noting that the Provincial Government is not proposing to advance "resources for socio-economic development up-front", we would like an explanation in plain English as to exactly what this seeming gobbledygook means. INDEMNIFICATION Clause 3.3 of Section I of the Federal Government's supposed response to Lubicon settlement proposals (areas for further discussion) indicates that "a process will need to be developed whereby the Band will indemnify Canada against future treaty land claims or severalty claims by all Band members who are Indians but who fail to provide (specified) elections, releases and indemnities..." We disagree and consider this proposed "process" to be a clear abdication of the Federal Government's exclusive Constitutional responsibility for dealing with aboriginal lands and the rights of aboriginal people. We can only be responsible for those people we represent. Any Lubicons who for whatever reasons aren't included in a settlement agreement may well retain a legitimate cause of legal action against the Government of Canada. But the Lubicons who do participate in any settlement agreement cannot and should not be expected to indemnify the Federal Government against the consequences of the Federal Government failing to fully meet its Constitutional responsibilities. COMPENSATION/ARBITRATION The Compensation/Arbitration section of the Federal Government's supposedly new "equivalency" offer claims that "Canada has paid a level for negotiations significantly higher than any other band in Canada, an amount of $1.5 million plus another $250,000". This statement is not true with regard to either the amount of monies paid to support negotiations elsewhere or with regard to monies paid to the Lubicons supposedly to support negotiations. According to public information the amount of money paid by 1990 to support Dene/Metis negotiations in the NWT, for example, was $40 million. And the money provided to the Lubicons by the Federal Government was not to support negotiations but to reimburse the cost of legal action by the Lubicons which the Lubicons were forced to take after the Government of Canada utterly failed to meet its legal obligations to the Lubicon people under the Canadian Constitution. Specifically the $1.5 million was provided basically to repay a bank loan pursuant to a recommendation by Federal Inquiry Officer E. Davie Fulton who concluded, rightly, that the Lubicons had no reasonable alternative but to pursue legal action against the Government of Canada. $51,000 of the $250,000 (actually $242,000) was provided to pay accumulating interest on the involved bank loan while Mr. Fulton sought to obtain funds from the Federal Government to repay the necessary bank loan. And the remaining $191,000 was used to reimburse the costs of technical experts required to support the necessary legal action (albeit their work has also been used to support negotiations). Lastly the Federal Government's supposedly new "equivalency" offer claims agreement on July 8, 1992 to arbitrate compensation under the COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION ACT. There was no such agreement between the Lubicon people and the Government of Canada on July 8th or at any other time. Instead there was agreement between lawyers for both sides to recommend arbitration of compensation under the COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION ACT to their respective clients. Lubicon lawyers did so but the Lubicon people have a number of serious questions about provisions of the COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION ACT which will have to be satisfactorily resolved before agreement will be possible. I regret to say that we do not consider the supposedly new "equivalency" offer to be either fair or just. While minor, essentially cosmetic changes have been made in Federal Government proposals they remain basically the same as those contained in the "take-it-or-leave-it" offer tabled in January of 1989. There is still no adequate provision for the Lubicon people to once again achieve social, political and economic self- sufficiency. Moreover we are distressed by the demonstrably false claims made about the supposedly new "equivalency" offer and over the continuing numbers games it contains. It is frankly very hard not to conclude that the Federal Government is not sincere about negotiating a settlement of Lubicon land rights and is only seeking to maintain the pretense of sincere negotiations in order to deflect criticism and buy time until the Lubicon society deteriorates to the point where the Lubicon people can no longer fight for our rights. This is a strategy which serves neither your Government nor the Lubicon people well and I hope it will be reconsidered. Sincerely, Bernard Ominayak, Chief, Lubicon Lake Indian Nation * * * * * Attachment #14: August 06, 1992, Statement of Lubicon Lake Women to Lubicon Settlement Commission of Review We the women of Lubicon Lake Nation are tired. We are frustrated and angry. We feel we cannot wait another minute to have our land claim settled. 50 years is too long. In those 50 years we have watched our land and lives be destroyed by Canadian governments and corporations. Our children are sick from the drinking water that oil has spilled in. They are sick from breathing the poisoned -- polluted air the pulp mill has made. We are sick from eating the animals, animals that are sick with disease from the poisoned plants and water. Our children have nothing -- they can't breath -- even that has been taken. Their culture, the bush life, has been destroyed by development. When we were young we lived in the bush -- it was a good life. Now, we have no traplines, nothing to hunt. There are no jobs, no money to live a decent life. We see ourselves, our men and children fall into despair, hopelessness, low-self-esteem and drinking. Families are broken like never before. Drinking and violence rise as our spirits fall. We live our lives in constant danger. Since the blockade we have been afraid to go certain places in town. Our sons have been beaten by white men when they say they are Lubicon. We are even afraid to say that we are what we are! The roads are dusty and dangerous to travel. The logging and oil trucks run us off sometimes. We have lost many young ones because of the horrible roads. We are not even safe in the bush. We are afraid to go in the bush because the white sports-hunters shoot at anything that moves. We ask why? Why us, what have we done to deserve such treatment. Why can't the government settle with the Lubicon? Why have they spent so much time and energy trying to destroy us rather than deal fairly with us. What have we done, our children, our people? What wrong have we done to the outside? We are not dogs, but we are treated like dogs. We are people just like you. We are equal. We have every right to be here, the Creator put us here in this place. We are important. Our children are important -- our future. We have lost more than your money can ever, ever buy, more than you can ever imagine, our way of life that we loved, our culture, our beautiful land, our health and our happiness. What else can we lose? The Lubicon women demand an end to the physical, emotional, economic, cultural and spiritual destruction. We demand an end to the invasion and devastation to all spheres of our lives. We demand an end to the government and corporation warfare with our lands and lives. We demand an end to the mockery of our Nation! We demand an end to the genocide. Hear our voice and our message -- we don't know if we'll be here tomorrow. * * * * * Attachment #15: Transcript of CKUA Radio News Broadcast (5:15 P.M.) Thursday, August 6, 1992 Don Bell, CKUA News In the headlines: The Lubicon Indians have rejected Ottawa's latest offer...and say it's part of an effort to wear down the Band so it can't fight for its rights. In a letter to Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon today, Lubicon Chief Bernard Ominayak says Ottawa's offer contains only "cosmetic changes" from its 1989 proposal and that it's unacceptable. CKUA's Erin Carpenter reports. Erin Carpenter, CKUA News In a letter to Tom Siddon, Lubicon Chief Bernard Ominayak calls Ottawa's latest offer "neither fair nor just". Siddon was in Edmonton just over two weeks ago and made the offer to Ominayak at a private meeting. According to information released by the Lubicon's Edmonton office, that offer amounts to $72.8 million dollars for public works projects and socio-economic development, slightly more than the $70 million the Band is asking. But a Lubicon representative said the federal offer includes $10.5 million for the land the Band already occupies, and that the rest of the offer is in 1992 dollars, making its value even less than the settlement the government proposed in 1989. The Lubicons are also asking for another $100 million in compensation and lost resources, and the letter indicates Ottawa's discussing going to arbitration on that. The Lubicons say Ottawa's offer shows it's only pretending to work toward a settlement. Spokeswoman Terri Kelly quotes from Ominayak's letter to Tom Siddon. Terri Kelly, Lubicon Advisor (From Chief Ominayak's August 6, 1992, letter to Tom Siddon): "It is frankly very hard not to conclude that the Federal Government is not sincere about negotiating a settlement of Lubicon land rights and is only seeking to maintain the pretense of sincere negotiations in order to deflect criticism and buy time until the Lubicon society deteriorates to the point where the Lubicon people can no longer fight for our rights." Carpenter The Lubicons are now waiting for a response from the Federal Government. Officials from Indian Affairs weren't available to comment this afternoon. Erin Carpenter, CKUA News, Edmonton. * * * * * Attachment #16: Transcript of CBC Radio News Broadcast (5:30 P.M.) Thursday, August 6, 1992 Krysia Jarmicka, CBC News The Lubicon Indians of northern Alberta have rejected the Federal Government's latest land claim offer. The Lubicon Cree have been trying to get a reserve in northwestern Alberta for more than 50 years. Last month the Minister of Indian Affairs presented the Indians with a new proposal, but Chief Bernard Ominayak says the offer is almost exactly the same as the Government's "take-it-or-leave-it" offer of 1989. At that time the Government offered a package worth $45 million. The Lubicons said they needed 4 times that to rebuild their community. Ominayak says the new offer merely contains cosmetic wording changes and in fact he says it's worth $8.7 million less than the previous offer due to inflation. Ominayak says it appears Ottawa just wants to keep up the pretense of sincere negotiations to deflect public criticism. * * * * * Attachment #17: August 07, 1992, Edmonton Journal article LUBICONS REJECT OTTAWA'S LATEST OFFER Jack Danylchuk Journal Staff Writer The Lubicon Cree have rejected the latest federal settlement offer -- said by Ottawa to be worth $73 million. The proposals contain "little that's new and fall far short of claims made for them," Lubicon chief Bernard Ominayak said in a letter sent Thursday to Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon. Siddon described the offer in glowing terms after his July 24 meeting with Ominayak. It was hoped that the latest offer would settle the claim, which has been outstanding for 50 years. "When you see the elements of this proposal you will see that it is our best effort at responding to matters the Lubicon people have raised," Siddon said after the apparently amicable meeting. But Ominayak's letter -- released to an unofficial commission that is reviewing the Lubicon situation -- indicates that the two sides are as far apart as ever. "We do not consider the supposedly new offer to be either fair or just," said Ominayak. "While minor, cosmetic changes have been made...the proposals remain basically the same as those contained in the take-it-or-leave-it offer. "Moreover, we are distressed by demonstrably false claims. It is very hard not to conclude that the federal government is not sincere about negotiating a settlement." The key difference between the two sides, according to Ominayak, is how Ottawa and the Lubicon value money. Ottawa describes its offer in 1992 dollars while the Lubicon position has been defined by the purchasing power of a dollar in 1988 when the federal government made its last take-it-or-leave-it proposal of $45 million. Siddon's most recent offer "treats 1988 and 1992 dollars as basically having the same value, which clearly isn't the case," Ominayak said. The 1988 Lubicon demand -- $70 million for community and economic development plus a $100 million trust fund -- would cost $248 million today while Ottawa's offer would inflate to $65 million, according to a conversion formula developed by the provincial government. The latest federal offer includes $38.3 million for construction; $12.5 million for socio-economic development; a $2.5 million signing incentive; $5 million over 10 years from Alberta plus $3 million from the province for a vocational training centre; $1 million for a road; and $10.5 million worth of land from Alberta. Ominayak also charged in the letter that Siddon intends to reduce the $12.5 million socio-economic package to $7.5 million. The socio-economic package is based on a $25,000-a-person grant. The band claims 500 members but Ottawa claims the band has lost members to two nearby groups -- the Woodland Cree and Loon River Cree. "Reliable inside sources advise us that 300 people or about $7.5 million is in fact the number the federal government has in mind," Ominayak wrote. The deal reached a year ago with the Woodland Cree and the anticipated settlement with the Loon River band have not weakened the resolve of the Lubicon, said Walter Whitehead, a councillor and former Lubicon chief. * * * * * Attachment #18: August 1992 Alberta Native News article LUBICON REJECT NEW FEDERAL OFFER by Dale Stelter The Lubicon Lake Indian Nation of northern Alberta has rejected the latest settlement offer from the federal government. The Lubicon have been trying to obtain a settlement of their land rights dispute for more than 50 years. Federal Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon had presented the offer to Lubicon Chief Bernard Ominayak in Edmonton on July 24th. At that time, Siddon publicly described the offer in very positive terms, although Chief Ominayak had not had an opportunity to look at it. Chief Ominayak then took the offer back to the Lubicon community of Little Buffalo to discuss it with band members. The federal government maintains the offer is worth over $73 million, a claim the Lubicon state is false. In an August 4th letter to Siddon, Chief Ominayak wrote that the Lubicon do not consider the new offer "to be either fair or just. While minor, essentially cosmetic changes have been made in federal government proposals, they remain basically the same as those contained in the 'take-it-or-leave-it' offer tabled in January of 1989. There is still no adequate provision for the Lubicon people to once again achieve social, political and economic self-sufficiency. "Moreover, we are distressed by the demonstrably false claims made about the supposedly new equivalency offer and over the continuing numbers game it contains." A key issue in the Lubicon response is that the new offer does not take into account the effect of inflation upon the purchasing power of a dollar, and treats "1988 and 1992 dollars as basically having the same value, which clearly isn't the case." In his letter, Chief Ominayak detailed a large number of other shortcomings in the federal offer. For example, he wrote that the new offer includes "a highly offensive $10.5 million 'contribution' supposedly from he provincial government which your cover letter describes as 'the value of (proposed Lubicon reserve) land at current market prices'." Lubicon band advisor Fred Lennarson said that such tactics are an attempt by the federal government to make the offer appear to be worth more than it actually is. "The federal government is not trying to deceive the Lubicon people with this offer, because the Lubicon know better. The government is trying to deceive everybody else." In a prepared statement, Indian Affairs Minister Siddon expressed regret that the Lubicon had rejected the latest offer. "This is one of the richest offers ever made for the settlement of an Aboriginal claim," he said. Lennarson countered that this statement is demonstrably false. Chief Ominayak's letter was released to the Lubicon Settlement Commission of Review on August 6th, when the commission held hearings at the Lubicon community of Little Buffalo Lake. The independent, non-partisan commission was set up earlier this year by the Alberta New Democrats, the official opposition to the provincial government, to investigate the Lubicon settlement issue and make recommendations. The commission also held hearings in Peace River the next day. As this issue goes to press, details of the Little Buffalo and Peace River hearings are not yet available, but will be reported in the next issue. * * * * * Attachment #19: GOVERNMENT OF CANADA INFORMATION, August 1992 HISTORY OF THE LUBICON LAKE CLAIM BACKGROUND In 1933, the heads of fourteen Indian families living near Lubicon Lake petitioned the federal government. They stated they were treaty Indians, most of whom were members of the Whitefish Lake Band, which had received a reserve in 1908. However, the families said they lived apart from the Whitefish Lake Band and wanted a reserve of their own at Lubicon Lake. In 1939, the government agreed to recognize them as a band and to provide a 25.4 square mile reserve for their population of 127 people, in accordance with the provisions of Treaty 8. The Second World War intervened and, in the years following, the claim was not pursued. During this period the band was treated like all other bands. It received government support for housing, band salaries and administration, education and social assistance. THE LUBICON CLAIM In 1980 the Lubicon Lake Band filed a statement of claim in the Federal Court of Canada against Canada, Alberta and various oil companies. The Lubicon claim was in three parts: - they had aboriginal title; failing that, - they were within the Treaty 8 area and were entitled to a settlement based upon its benefits; and failing that, - they were promised a reserve which they had yet to receive. In their statement of claim, the band maintained it represented approximately 200 people who sought title to 25,000 square miles -- approximately 10 per cent of the province of Alberta -- along with $1 billion in damages. Since the federal court can only hear actions against the federal government and its institutions, the band later initiated a second action against Alberta and 11 oil companies in the Alberta courts. The band's billion dollar claim, and a later demand that oil and gas activity be shut down, captured the attention of the media. The federal government has not accepted the band's claim to have aboriginal title -- thereby rejecting their claim to 25,000 square miles -- since aboriginal rights to land had been dealt with by Treaty 8. It is, therefore, the second or third parts of the claim which Canada has accepted and has been trying to settle. The basis of the claim is found in Treaty No. 8, signed in 1899 between the Federal Crown and the Indians of Northern Alberta, among others. The Treaty provides for one square mile of land for a family of five, or 128 acres per Indian, plus other benefits. Both the federal and provincial governments acknowledge that the land is owed and that the Treaty claim is valid. The main obstacle to final settlement is the band's continued demands for monetary compensation. Alberta has offered the Lubicon Lake Cree 95 square miles of land for a reserve, inclusive of mines and minerals. This meets a demand of the band and has been accepted by it. It would create the sixth largest reserve in Alberta, even though the Lubicon Lake Band is only the 29th largest band in the province. In addition, in a formal offer made in January 1989, Canada offered $34 million to build a new community including up to 133 new houses, a band office, sewer and water system, community hall and school. Canada also offered to provide another $10.4 million for an economic development package, all of which would not prejudice any further court challenges the Lubicon Band might launch to win additional compensation under Treaty 8. Both the Alberta and Canadian governments have tried repeatedly to resolve the claim. Numerous attempts have been made to settle outstanding differences but to date all offers have been rejected. Fortunately, land is no longer an issue as the band has agreed to the provincial offer of 95 square miles. The band now seeks $170,000,000. Its case against Canada is a demand for the band's share of programs and services since 1899 -- an issue which Canada has invited the Band to pursue in the courts. The Lubicon Lake Band has refused to do so. In 1984, the Band started an appeal to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The Committee's finding confirmed what the Government of Canada has already acknowledged -- that an obligation to the Lubicons exists which must be settled. The Human Rights Committee found that the offer which Canada has already made to the band is fair and reasonable and would meet any obligation Canada has under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. After examining the facts, the UN agreed that the government offer to the Lubicon Lake Indians is an appropriate remedy. In an effort to renew dialogue with the Lubicons, Minister Siddon requested a meeting in November 1991 with Chief Ominayak. The Minister and the Chief have met several times since then, most recently in July when he presented the Chief with the federal response to the Lubicon settlement proposal. The new federal offer for a settlement includes the following: - Canada will provide a total of $53.3 million in benefits over five years to settle the claim, based on Chief Bernard Ominayak's estimate of 500 band members, with 450 living on reserve. The band will receive $20 million in the first year after settlement excluding operating funds. - Of this, $38.3 million will be made available for the construction of a new community for the Lubicon Nation. This includes up to 120 new and relocated houses, full water and sewer services, roads, electricity, administration office, community hall, health centre, fire station, school and a teachers' residence. - Within this package, Canada will make available $12.5 million for an expanded and more flexible economic development package. - A $2.5 million "incentive" to settle the claim has also been added to the federal offer to the Lubicon community. - In addition to the federal package, the province of Alberta has offered the band a total of 95 square miles of land, of which they would hold full subsurface rights over 79 square miles of land. The current market value for the land is $10.5 million. Alberta has also offered $9 million in financing to date, to help settle the claim. - The proposal calls for the use of binding arbitration based on an agreed-upon question to resolve the issue of compensation, a key area of disagreement in previous offers. The new offer exceeds the federal government's 1988 offer by almost $8.5 million. Canada is ready to add to this settlement package a five-year Alternative Funding Arrangement (AFA) to provide the band with $17.7 million in operating funds which will be phased in as community construction is completed. Operations Directorate Communications Branch DIAND * * * * * Attachment #20: GOVERNMENT OF CANADA INFORMATION, August 11, 1992 DETAILS RESPECTING 1992 FEDERAL OFFER TO LUBICON LAKE NATION BRIEFING TO MEDIA BY TOM SIDDON, MINISTER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS AND NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT Chateau Airport Hotel Calgary, Alberta Tuesday, August 11, 1992 (Not attached, available by mail upon request)