10 A Failure of Canadian Democracy

11   BC's failure to save the Peace reflects a failure of Canadian democracy.

The Canadian Constitution defines a Division of Powers which places "Indians" under federal jurisdiction. It is the responsibility of the Federal government, its fiduciary duty, to stand up with and for First Nations and do the right thing (to abide by treaty, to support treaty rights when they are breached, to lead by example). This has not happened. Expensive law suits and appeals cause delays and force First Nations to fight for rights which seem obviously theirs.

Forty years ago, Hugh Brody researched opposing attitudes towards "development" in the Fort St John region. Nothing much seems to have changed since then, except perhaps the laws in Canada. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. And several Supreme Court rulings acknowledging the rights of aboriginal peoples. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Summary of their Final Report asks that the federal government "Renew or establish Treaty relationships based on principles of mutual recognition, mutual respect, and shared responsibility for maintaining those relationships into the future."

Obviously, many citizens, and many elected levels of government, have yet to "get with the program." One of the Calls to Action (#47) of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission says: "We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous peoples and lands, such as the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius, and to reform those laws, government policies, and litigation strategies that continue to rely on such concepts."

The Fort St John Treaty 8 First Nations are collecting money to support their Justice for the Peace Caravan to Montreal, to attend the Federal Supreme Court where this latest appeal is being heard.