Aboriginal Rights

Letter from General Council to Prime Minister Harper

Monday, May 8, 2006

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2

Dear Prime Minister Harper:

Please accept my greetings on behalf of The United Church of Canada and its General Council Executive. I am writing out of an acute concern about the continuing situation in Caledonia, Ontario.

I have been directed to advise you that the Executive of the General Council wishes to

• Commend you for participating in the tripartite talks convened to resolve the Davis Creek dispute at Caledonia; and to offer our appreciation that different governments have recognized the hereditary chiefs of the Six Nations
• Urge you to take all necessary steps to arrive at a fair, just, and peaceful settlement of this dispute which honours the rights of the Six Nations people to have their land claims settled fairly, and that the recognition of land rights is always a mandatory consideration when shaping the kind of development which takes place on land to which the Six Nations people lay claim
• And urge your government to give high priority to the resolution of unresolved land claims with the Six Nations people and with First Nations across Canada

Yours truly,
Rev. Dr. Jim Sinclair
General Secretary, General Council

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Letter from Hamilton Conference to Premier McGuinty

May 16, 2006

Dalton McGuinty, Premier
Legislative Bldg.
Queen's Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1

Hon. David Ramsay
Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs
Whitney Block, 6th Flr., Suite 6630
99 Wellesley St. W.
Toronto, ON M7A 1W3

Dear Premier and Minister Ramsay:

We write on behalf of Hamilton Conference of The United Church of Canada.

Hamilton Conference is one of thirteen Conferences in The United Church of Canada with 67,800 members worshipping in 302 congregations from Tobermory to Lake Erie and from Mississauga to the Region of Waterloo. The Grand River and its tributaries flow through the heart of the Conference.

We wish to commend you and your government for your participation in the tripartite negotiations which have been convened to resolve the Davis Creek dispute at Caledonia, Ontario, and for your historic decision to negotiate with the Hereditary Chiefs as well as the representatives of the elected Council of Six Nations.

We urge you and your government to take all necessary steps to arrive at a timely, fair, just, and peaceful settlement of this dispute which honours the right of the Six Nations people to have their land claims settled fairly and that includes the recognition that land rights are a mandatory consideration when shaping the kind of development which takes place on land to which the Six Nations people lay claim.

We recognize that the resolution of the more than 600 claims filed by First Nations with the Federal Government is largely the responsibility of the Federal Government. We believe that your government's policy regarding the intensification of development in rural urban areas such as Caledonia will have a significant impact on the First Nations people of Ontario. We therefore would further urge that you and your government establish as policy, that when planning for development of lands in the Province of Ontario to which First Nations people lay claim, the First Nations people who have laid claim to the land proposed for development will have meaningful input to and be equal partners in the shaping of any development plans on land to which they lay claim.

We pray that you will do your utmost to bring about a just and respectful settlement to the negotiations at Caledonia and that you will move to ensure that the First Nations people who reside in Ontario are equal partners in the future prosperity of Ontario.

Sincerely,
Roz Vincent Haven
President

Fred Monteith
Executive Secretary

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Letter from Hamilton Conference to Prime Minister Harper

May 16, 2006

The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
Government of Canada
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H4

The Hon. Jim Prentice
Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs
Government of Canada
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H4

Dear Prime Minister and Minister Prentice,

We write on behalf of Hamilton Conference of The United Church of Canada.

Hamilton Conference is one of thirteen Conferences in The United Church of Canada with 67,800 members worshipping in 302 congregations from Tobermory to Lake Erie and from Mississauga to the Region of Waterloo. The Grand River and its tributaries flow through the heart of the Conference.

We wish to commend you and your government for your participation in the tripartite negotiations which have been convened to resolve the Davis Creek dispute at Caledonia, Ontario, and for your historic decision to negotiate with the hereditary chiefs as well as representatives of the elected Council of Six Nations.

We urge you and your government to take all necessary steps to arrive at a timely, fair, just and peaceful settlement of this dispute which honours the right of the Six Nations people to have their land claims settled fairly and that includes the recognition that land rights are a mandatory consideration when shaping the kind of development which takes place on land to which the Six Nations people lay claim.

We understand that there are more than 600 claims filed by First Nations with the Federal Government and more than half of those claims are at the Department of Justice for legal opinions. Some of these claims have been under consideration for years. We would therefore further urge you and your government to assign the financial and human resources necessary to make the resolution of other unresolved claims with the Six Nations people and with other First Nations across Canada a top priority.

We pray that you will do your utmost to see that a just and respectful resolution will be found to these long outstanding claims.

Sincerely,
Roz Vincent Haven
President

Fred Monteith
Executive Secretary

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