BC judge warns First Nations claims tribunal at risk of failure – The Globe and Mail
Nov. 24 2014
A tribunal set up to resolve First Nations claims without a lengthy court battle is on the verge of failure, its very independence at risk, warns the judge in charge.
The Specific Claims Tribunal was announced in 2008, a joint initiative of the federal government and the Assembly of First Nations to address hundreds of unsettled claims against the Crown related to reserve lands and treaty obligations.
But the agency is understaffed and, seemingly, overlooked, Justice Harry Slade, the tribunal chairman, said in his annual report to the minister.
“The Tribunal has neither a sufficient number of members to address its present and future case load in a timely manner, if at all,” Justice Slade wrote Sept. 30.
