OTTAWA — Canada changed the way it settles First Nation land claims, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada confirmed Friday.
The department is also mulling over possible amendments to the Indian Act and the Specific Claims Tribunal Act, though it didn't say what those changes would be.
Specific claims deal with past wrongs against First Nations by Canada, including the administration of land or other assets."Under this approach, the First Nation agrees to forgo any legal cause of action in relation to the lands in question and further promises in the settlement agreement not to claim a reserve in the claim lands against Canada, the province, or third parties," a spokesperson from Crown-Indigenous Relations said in a statement.
Changing the requirements and implementing a promissory estoppel in place of a modern land surrender wouldn't extinguish the First Nation's interest in the land,"if any,'' the documents say.The federal government says in the documents this approach is"consistent with reconciliation objectives'' and supports nation-to-nation relationship building.
The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs penned an open letter to the former minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, Marc Miller, in July saying 98 First Nations had been denied specific claims funding for the coming fiscal year. "Many of these First Nations are in the middle of researching and developing their claims and this work must now be put on hold indefinitely'' unless funding is provided, the letter from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs reads.The letter from the union also calls on the federal government to increase its $12-million budget for specific claims funding, saying there is currently an $18-million shortfall.
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