No Canada or Tahltan Overstep?

Canada Act, also called Constitution Act of 1982, Canada’s constitution approved by the British Parliament on March 25, 1982, and proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II on April 17, 1982, making Canada wholly independent. The document contains the original statute that established the Canadian Confederation in 1867 (the British North America Act), the amendments made to it by the British Parliament over the years, and new material resulting from negotiations between the federal and provincial governments between 1980 and 1982.

 

At no time during this period have First Nations ever taken back control of the land they say belongs to them. Now 154 years later Chad Norman Day declared Canada null and void (at least on the land he is claiming) and has declared that the Tahltan Nation makes all the rules, and laws on the land he claims belongs to them.

 

If Chad is right there is no need to negotiate land claims, and there will be no negotiations, Chad has already unilaterally decided the so called land claims.

 

Now comes the question of just what will they own? The fish, wildlife, trees, minerals in the ground, if they own it all, then exactly what belongs to the crown? Meaning what belongs to the government of Canada and or the Goverment of British Columbia, that both by the way are housed on unseeded aboriginal land.

 

In today’s world, who will decide the overlap of fishing? In the past they simply tried to get the others to cooperate and if not they went to war to settle any issues, that will not work in modern times. So where does our court system fit into their system, or frankly can it exist at all?

 

Owners of land can rent, lease and even tax the land that its users live on, so everyone who is non aboriginal, all 95.1 % of the public, meaning all 38 million plus people will become subject to the rules set by the leaders of the 4.9% aboriginal population. Seriously will Canadians tolerate this?

 

I hope by now you are seeing a massive PANDORA’S BOX because if you think that settling land claims will lead to a peaceful outcome, your a bigger dreamer than John Lennon ever was.

 

Its time to stop bullshitting each other, it’s time to face up to the truth, if Canada has no authority and or the government of British Columbia over First Nations, then neither do the police, its not up to them to pick and choose when and when authority does or does not apply. You cannot cherry pick the law, then claim parts of it and demand the rest is tossed, you cannot expect that the 94.9 percent of Canadians are here to serve aboriginals at their beckon request. Its about give and take, its about sharing a system with fellow humans.

 

If Chad and the Tahltan are indeed an independent nation, then they need to stop being dependant on Canada for policing, healthcare and the many other services it now enjoys.

 

Chad Day has taken it on himself to kick people off land that has not even been formally declared Tahltan land, but he does expect to get 100% hospital care for his people, and to have the RCMP settle any and all disputed within his community. At what point when Chad Day pulls the Tahltan out of Canada, does Canada stop funding or providing services to the Tahltan?

 

Chad expects all the benefits of living in a civilized system, yet at the same time declare that he and they are the only authority on land they claim as their land. They are in fact making declarations as if they are a sovereign nation and not subject of the rules of Canada. All of which he did without consulting Canada or working from inside a treaty process, so it seems that the strategy employed is that Canada and or the government of British Columbia are so terrified of bad press that they are laying back in stunned silence.

 

Has anyone heard our government stand up and defend the rights of legitimate users of the land in question, or has the Goverment of British Columbia handed over the land and all rights to Chad and the Tahltan nation?

 

Chief Justice Lamer C.J. in the case of Delgamuukw v. British Columbia ruled that First Nations must prove ownership of the land they claim, and Chad somehow thinks that this does not apply to the Tahltan nation.

 

The test for proving Aboriginal title: “(i) the land must have been occupied prior to sovereignty, (ii) if present occupation is relied on as proof of occupation pre-sovereignty, there must be a continuity between present and pre-sovereignty occupation, and (iii) at sovereignty, that occupation must have been exclusive. That will be enough to demonstrate that the occupancy of the land is “sufficiently important to be of central significance to the culture of the claimants.”

 

 

Does the claim that “our ancestors” hunted and trapped on the land suffice as defining the word “occupation”? Granted it was our courts that would allow hearsay evidence to be entered into evidence, even though in every other case in law its not allowed for very obvious reasons. Under normal law hearsay opens the door to false facts being tabled, and somehow these false facts will not be used to gain control of billions of dollars in resource rich land?

 

Two quick notes on this case, the first if proving the land was theirs was simple, they would have done it decades ago, it was 24 years ago when that ruling was made, the second and more important part of the ruling was that the Delgamuukw ruling did NOT establish ownership of land.

 

Now Chad acts as if he is the emperor of his newfound kingdom, he is demanding the TV show “Jade Fever,” which airs on Discovery Canada be pulled off the air. The show features a hard working family run jade venture that is legally operating within the already heavy handed BC environmental laws.

 

““The difficulty, if there is one, is in enforcement,” Mines Minister Bruce Ralston said. “These are very, very remote areas where really the only access is by helicopter.” Imagine that, the NDP minister is suggesting the companies may be in violation, he does not know, but excuses himself because the areas are remote? No defence of the companies, no evidence they are in violation, but just excuses to plead ignorance?

 

That comment shows that even Chad needs to fly here by helicopter to complain about what is going on on land he has never established to belong to the Tahltan Nation. But it appears that its the attention he is getting that seems to be the primary goal here, like other radical protesters, there is no attempt on his part to negotiate with the government he does not seem to recognize other than when he needs something from them.

 

If you feel I am being a bit too blunt, its because governments are pitting the the public up against the 4.9 percent aboriginals, and instead of leading the way to reconciliation, they seem to be encouraging a fight between the have and the have not’s, in order to become the heroes at the end of the day who saved us from each other. (Typical NDP mentality)

 

Chad Day could simply have gone to the press and said, we are claiming lands a, b, and c as ours, we would appreciate if the government would settle this so we won’t end up fighting over who has jurisdiction over it. If the government refuses, they have the option to take the government to court, however why do that when every time you cause disruption to the 95.1% the governments starts bombarding you with cash grants. It works for other First Nations so why not rattle more money out of the pipeline? After all the 95.1 percent of Canadians will just be taxed more to cover these costs.

 

I for one am sick of government after government failing to settle anything other than giving away tax payer dollars and sending tax payers more and bigger bills for incompetence

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Seriously, this has gone on for far to long, if negotiations do not work, then lets take our chances on what the Supreme Court will rule and be done with it, so we can all start living with each other again, as opposed to fighting each other.

 

 Please feel free to correct me if I made factual errors, I am always open to the truth being tabled.