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Legislation prevails over agreements: Aboriginal Affairs

By Olesia Plokhii | Apr 3, 2013 6:28 pm | | 0 Comments

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Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt addresses the First Nations Lands Advisory Board in Gatineau, Quebec, Monday March 25, 2013.THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Fred Chartrand

The Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs altered more than 600 annual funding agreements with Canadas First Nations to ensure the deals, worth $6.4 billion this year, would hinge on the communities support of new legislation, the department said Wednesday. After weeks of pressure over changes made to the agreements and a small but vocal group of First Nations leaders either abstaining from signing the deals or declaring they were signing under duress the ministry said the changes were made to ensure that current or future legislation would trump the conditions of the deal. The department also said that 40 communities have yet to sign their agreements, which were due March 15. Communities that signed on or before that date began receiving funds April 1.
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Legislation prevails over agreements: Aboriginal Affairs | iPolitics

Changes to the 2013-2014 models were made to recognize that legislation prevails over funding agreements, a ministry official said in an email, adding that the terms and conditions of these funding arrangements ensure that First Nations comply with the recently passed First Nations Transparency Act.

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Bill C-27, which received Royal Assent last week, will impose stringent financial reporting requirements on First Nations, including the requirement for chiefs and councillors to release audited financial statements, their salaries and a list of all expenses to Aboriginal Affairs on an annual basis. Native communities and the Assembly of First Nations argue the bill is an undue intrusion by Ottawa and will prove costly to implement. The department official stressed that the changes would have no

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impact on the level, timing or type of funding to First Nations. Still, the departments statement on the reason for the changes

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stands in stark contrast to previous explanations for the tweaks, which ministry spokesman Jan ODriscoll said last month were solely administrative. Since receiving their agreements last month, several bands, including the Burnt Church First Nation in New Brunswick and the Onion Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, have objected to numerous changes in the documents, including the absence of a clause that protects treaty rights and new controls over welfare payments. Their most vehement objection stems from a condition that states

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they must abide by future laws, or agree to subsequent amendments or replacements of legislation outlined in the agreement, a clause they fear could negatively affect existing treaties. Onion Lake has officially entered into a dispute resolution process with the department over the changes, which it said in a band resolution letter to minister Bernard Valcourt were not negotiated in good faith and are insufficient. Chief Wallace Fox said he is willing to take the federal government to court if the changes are not eliminated.

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Out of more than 600 bands that have annual agreements with Ottawa, only 40 have not signed their agreements, mostly due to minor issues dealing with paperwork or personnel vacancies, according to information on the ministrys website. Out of those 40, less than ten have withheld signatures over serious issues that need resolution, the website said, and a remaining ten bands have entered into agreements under duress. That legal caveat allows a First Nation to avoid being held to the terms of the deal if its challenged in court. (This year), the number of unsigned agreements is somewhat higher than what has occurred in previous years, reads an unpublicized memo on the funding agreements on the departments website. AANDC is working with the First Nations who have not signed agreements to address their outstanding concerns as quickly as possible.
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The AFN, which sent a letter to Valcourt March 25 asking him to revoke the changes and involve First Nations in discussions, said they had not heard back from the minister. Out of $8 billion that Aboriginal Affairs will spend on First Nations this year, $6.4 billion goes toward the funding agreements.
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Legislation prevails over agreements: Aboriginal Affairs | iPolitics

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