Ottawa seeks new aboriginal claims system – Nelson Star

Apr 6, 2015

Canada’s aboriginal land claims resolution system has turned into an employment program for some of those involved, with “a conspicuous lack of urgency in negotiations” and little common ground after 10 or more years at most treaty tables.

That’s one conclusion from federal advisor Doug Eyford, who spent six months consulting on the state of treaty-making across Canada since aboriginal title was protected in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The report focuses heavily on B.C., which has 54 active treaty tables and only four agreements in the 22 years of the federally-financed B.C. Treaty Commission. Parts of Quebec, Labrador, Ontario, the north and most of B.C. never completed early treaties that extinguished aboriginal title and made way for settlement and development in the rest of Canada.

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