Martin weighs in on UN native pact

Former PM, contradicting Conservatives, says his government would have supported document

Juliet O'Neil

CanWest News Service

Sunday, July 15, 2007

OTTAWA -- Former prime minister Paul Martin says his Liberal government was prepared to adopt the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, contrary to repeated claims by Conservative Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice.

Martin weighed in amid mounting criticism of the Harper government's position in advance of a UN general assembly vote on the declaration, which only Canada and Russia opposed during a UN Human Rights Council vote in June 2006.

Prentice has said the former government, like the current one, had concerns about the impact of the declaration on lawfully negotiated treaty rights.

Martin, however, denies the Liberals resisted the declaration.

"In terms of what the facts were, we supported it." Indeed, said Martin, "not only were we prepared to sign [the declaration], but we were strong advocates of it. We were one of the countries that led in an incredibly lengthy negotiation going back years."

Prentice has also expressed concern the military would not be allowed to conduct evacuations or other operations on aboriginal lands in the event of a crisis or conflict.

But Winnipeg's Celeste McKay, who has represented the Native Women's Association of Canada in declaration negotiations since 2004, dismissed the comments as "fear mongering."

Martin said he does not want to turn any aboriginal issue into a partisan matter. He does, however, want to underline the Harper government's opposition to the declaration is a reversal of the previous government's policy.

"Clearly the current government has its views, and it would appear to me that it's unwilling to defend them and say why it would reverse course in the case of the declaration," Martin said.

Prentice, travelling overseas, was not available for comment. However, his spokeswoman, Deirdra McCracken, denied Martin's assertion.

"To be clear: No previous Canadian government has ever supported the document in its current form because the wording is inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, our Constitution Act, previous Supreme Court decisions, the National Defence Act and policies under which we negotiate treaties."

The minority Conservative government remains unmoved in the face of a flood of criticism.

Moreover, it accuses the Liberal and New Democratic opposition parties of hypocrisy. That's because the opposition parties have obstructed proposed government legislation that would repeal a 30-year-old exemption from the Canadian Human Rights Act for discrimination based on the Indian Act. The 1977 exemption, shielding aboriginal band councils and the federal government, was supposed to be temporary.

The opposition parties say they are supporting aboriginal groups, who worry that band councils could be swamped with discrimination claims they won't have the resources to process or redress, and that individual rights would trump collective rights, which flies in the face of some native community traditions. Opponents agree with the intent of the proposal, but seek more than six months allowed for preparations. The Canadian Human Rights Commission has called for 30 months.

The UN declaration, first conceived in 1985, is frequently described as an "aspirational" document, setting out human-rights standards to which states and indigenous peoples should aspire. The aim is to bolster dignity and hope among some of the most marginalized communities in the world.

Prentice has derided the term "aspirational." Referring to the term in a letter to a newspaper, he remarked: "aspirational -- whatever that is."

But Martin said it's a term that refers to the evolution of "international conscience and activity."

"What we're following is a tried-and-true course that has actually worked, time and time again," he said, citing the evolution of thinking on climate change as an example.

The three opposition parties, including the Bloc Quebecois, have called for the declaration's adoption.

And critics say that such a strong collective parliamentary opinion should be accorded weight by a minority government.

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion and NDP Leader Jack Layton condemned Harper's stance in speeches at the annual meeting of the Assembly of First Nations last week. And aboriginal leaders, along with Amnesty International and other human rights advocates, vow to press the government to embrace the declaration.