AMR 20/C19/2007
6 September 2007
Ontario: Latest land rights confrontation illustrates urgency of Ipperwash recommendations
Public Statment
September 6, 2007
Twelve years ago today, Indigenous rights protester Dudley George was killed by an OPP officer after a Labour Day occupation of disputed land at Ipperwash Provincial Park. A long overdue provincial inquiry into the events surrounding his death issued its recommendations on May 31, 2007. The Inquiry report concluded that “the single biggest source of frustration, distrust, and ill feeling among Aboriginal people in Ontario is our failure to deal in a just and expeditious way with breaches of treaty and other legal obligations to First Nations.” The report went on to state that “if the governments of Ontario and Canada want to avoid future confrontations they will have to deal with land and treaty claims effectively and fairly.”
Almost a month later, a confrontation over uranium exploration on lands claimed by the Shabot Obaadjiwan and Ardoch Algonquin First Nations illustrates the urgent need for the Province of Ontario to implement the recommendations of the Ipperwash Inquiry.
The provincial government has licensed a company, Frontenac Ventures, to carry out exploratory drilling on 60 square kilometres of land that the government considers to be crown land. The land is part of a much larger area in the Ottawa River watershed, that has been the subject of a land claim since 1983. Representatives of the Algonquin people, who have never entered into a treaty with the Canadian crown, say this is unceded territory in which their rights must be respected.
The Shabot Obaadjiwan and Ardoch Algonquin First Nations say they were not informed about plans to drill on the contested land. On June 29, members of these communities occupied a former mine site being used as headquarters for Frontenac’s exploration activities. Frontenac responded by filing a $77 million lawsuit against the protestors and obtaining an interim injunction to remove the protestors. The Algonquin, who withdrew from the injunction hearings in order to press for a negotiated political solution, have refused to leave the site. They have called for a moratorium on uranium mining on the disputed land. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) reported to have demonstrated sensitivity to the underlying rights issues in their response to date and have not tried to forcibly remove the protesters.
Canadian court decisions, dating back 17 years, have found that governments have a duty to consult Indigenous peoples and work in good faith to accommodate their concerns prior to taking any decision -- such as licensing resource exploration – potentially impacting their rights and interests. This obligation exists in every instance, even where the underlying land rights are still in dispute. Courts have also found that in instances where a strong case can be made that Indigenous peoples’ inherent or treaty rights are at stake and the potential for harm to these rights is particularly serious, governments should proceed only with the consent of the affected peoples.
The province of Ontario has come under mounting criticism over its failure to implement this duty in its management of natural resources. Last year, in a similar case in northern Ontario where the junior mining company called Platinex began exploration without adequate consultation with the affected people, a Superior Court judge sharply criticized the province for “abdicating” its legal responsibilities to Indigenous peoples. The Platinex decision was cited by the Ipperwash Inquiry which called on the government of Ontario to work with Indigenous peoples to revise provincial laws, regulations and policies to bring them in line with these established legal obligations.
The Ontario Mining Act and other provincial legislation for the licensing of resource development are key flash points for conflict over Indigenous land rights. Amnesty International believes reform of these laws should be given urgent priority.
In the meantime, the province must provide clear instruction to all its officials to ensure that the duties of consultation and consent are fulfilled before decisions are taken that could impact on Indigenous peoples’ use of the land. Furthermore, where disputes have arisen, the province should take all reasonable measures to ensure that underlying Aboriginal and Treaty rights are respected and protected.
When corporations or other parties seek an injunction against Indigenous peoples, the Ipperwash Inquiry called on the province to intervene to ensure that the court is made aware of the underlying issues of Aboriginal and treaty rights that are at stake.
Although provincial officials have recently offered to meet with representatives of the Shabot Obaadjiwan and Ardoch Algonquin First Nations, Amnesty International is deeply concerned that the province failed to act sooner to uphold its obligation to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples, including at the point when the exploration permit was granted.
When the government of Premier Dalton McGuinty was elected in 2003, one of its first acts was to call the Ipperwash Inquiry. The upcoming provincial election will be the first since the Inquiry made its report.
Given the urgent need for better understanding and protection of Indigenous rights in the province, Amnesty International believes all candidates should use the opportunity of the election to affirm their support for implementation of the report’s recommendations.
For further information, please contact:
Elizabeth Berton-Hunter, Media Relations
(416) 363-9933 ext 32