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This document is archival in nature and is intended Le présent document a une valeur archivistique et for those who wish to consult archival documents fait partie des documents d’archives rendus made available from the collection of Public Safety disponibles par Sécurité publique Canada à ceux Canada. qui souhaitent consulter ces documents issus de sa collection. Some of these documents are available in only one official language. Translation, to be provided Certains de ces documents ne sont disponibles by Public Safety Canada, is available upon que dans une langue officielle. Sécurité publique request. Canada fournira une traduction sur demande. •■•■••• •!.,.; ijÇ / BACKGROUND INFORMATION The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples ROUND TABLE ON ABORIGINAL JUSTICE Ottawa, November 25-27, 1992,, eee coWee egeee0 '0,*eoe0%\%co,10.'to ?ee eeee o.e.e ove e ede. beefficeoe°aPPeee elege 'au\e0. z\e\g \-*Oceeceeeie% ve)\•‘\téeéezeoe.\\ • cep:DA §61215g3 4 1994 Prepared by: Secretariat Executive Services JAN Ministry of the Solicitor General te.)D reee:m oT Wlet 1 A (31,' MS 316D (11.83) Briefing Book Background Information Relevant to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples Round Table on Justice Issues November 25-27, 1992 Ériine Minister's Native Agenda Speech of September 25, 1990. 2. Prime Minister's Speech of -April 23, 1991 announcing a Royal Commission on aboriginal issues. 3. Report of the Former Chief Justice Brian Dickson, August 2, 1991. 4. Opening Remarks by the Minister of Justice to the Standing Committee on Justice and the Solicitor General May 12, 1992. Pages 5 and 6 set out the Government's position with respect to a separate aboriginal justice system. 5. Press Release announcing the establishment of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. 6. Order-in-Council and Terms of Reference of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal . Peoples. 7. Press Release launching the first round of hearings of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. 8. Opening statements at the launch of the first round of public hearings of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Apri1,21, 1992. 9. Briefing Note outlining hearings of theiRoyal,OzinimisSipn on Aboriginal Peoples during which policing, corrections or parole issues weié'râised.1` 10. DSG Briefing Note for the Solicitor /General summarizing the first round (if hearings of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal peoples. 11 Discussion Paper 1, Framing the Issues, Royal'Commission 6itAboriginal Peoples. 12. Public Hearings, Overview of the First Round, Royal Commission on Aboriginal 13. A Commentary The Right of Aboriginal Self-Government and the Constitution, Royal , C9MMiS§1M ori Abdriginal 14. Selected transcripts of Commissioner Bertha Wilson's comments on the justice system during the first round of hearings. 15. Press Release announcing the second round of he,arings of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. 16. Background Paper prepared for the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples describing the structure of the Ministry and common elements of aboriginal policing,' corrections and parole programming, Ministry Secretariat, September 1992. 17. Draft agenda for the Round Table on Justice. 18. List of individuals invited to attend the Round Table on Justice. 19. Extracts from the Inquiries Act. 20. Notes on the Responsibilities of Public Servants in Relation to Parliamentary Committees, PCO, December 1990. 21. Other materials available on request or available at a later date. • ,. °Het of the Cebimet Prime beater Premier miniSlre {ANIL •* NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS BY PRIME MINISTER BRIAN MULRONEY ON THE HOUSE RESOLUTION WITH RESPECT TO OKA SEPTEMBER 25, 1990 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY) o Since July, television has been bringing into Canadian homes alien i ag of barricades and masks and assault rifles. A dispute that began in Oka over land wa hijacked by a group of heavily armed people, motivated by ideology and seeking io protect illegal commerce. Their tactics have been the tactics of terrorists. High-powered weapons, threats against the authorities, trade in contraband goods, Intimidation of !ay.-abiding Mohawks, interruption of transportation, and destruction of property disqualified any claim the Warriors had to represent the grievances of law-abiding Indians. What is taking place at Oka is not civil disobedience; it is violent activity that no community should be expected to tolerate. • The 'ostensible reason for the conflict at Oka was long ago removed veil( in July, we acquired the disputed land for the Mohawks of Kanesatake. This step, incidentally, is in keeping with the goals of the framework agreement concluded a yez •ago this month between the Mohawks ofKanesatake, the tov.Pn of Oka and the feden and provincial governments, an agreement repudiafid In March by the Mohawks. What has been at issue these past weeks, then, is not the land. Rather, the Warriors, advised by foreign legal counsel, have been seeking,recognition that the communities are independent, that the laws of Canada do not apply to their lands an to their activities, which include smuggling and gambling. They have sought by vét means to circumvent the Canadian justice system. The Warriors' demands are not simply ideas on which reasonable pcopl can disagree u. or simply agree to disagree. They strike at the heart of what Canada all about. The Warriors have been acting as if the concept of native self-government means national independence. _ - I will be very clear'On this point. Native self-government does not now and cannot ever mean sovereign independence. Mohawk lands are part of Canadian territory -- and Canadian law must and does apply. Everyone in Canada, *warriors" included, is subject to the Criminal Code of Canada. If exceptions to the Criminal Co( were made on the basis of colour, race or creed, where could the line be drawn in a country as diverse as Canada? What could be more repugnant in a democracy than a legal system based on birth rather than equality? There are many non-violent avenues -- political and judicial — open 10 people in this country to promote change. The Warriors have opted for firearms violence, instead. Two Mohawks were killed in a dispute over gambling at the Akwesasne reserve last Spring. Corporal Marcel Lemay of the Silreté du Québec killed in the police assault on the barricades last July. These are the consequences when people .decide that the law does not apply to them. • • -2. Conferring on the claims of the Warriors the legitimacy of the grievances of Canada's aboriginal peoples does the latter's cause an enormous disserrice. And glorifying violence and romanticising those who have recourse to it does democracy, itself, a terrible wrong. Masks and guns make compelling pictures -- and raise ratings and circulation. But they don't equate to noble purpose. The armed forces have brought the barricades down and are gradually turning their responsibilities over to the SOreté du Québec: As this phase-out begins, I think all Members would agree that perhaps the most edifying aspect of this whole tragic episode has been the professionalism of the Canadian Armed Forces. The Canadian Forces, from General de Chastelain to Lieutenant-General Foster to Brigadier-General Roy are to be commended for the level of professionalism that has been evident throughout. Lieutenant Colonel Robin Gagnon at Kahnawake, Major Alain Tremblay ai Oka, Private Petri* Cloutier — the Young soldier who stood his ground Coolly in a face to face challenge and all the other personnel of 5 Brigade showed great courage and almost superhuman self-control in the face of extraordinary provocation. They have earned Canadians' respect and gratitude for a difficult Job well done. The hold-out warriors have retreated to a small piece of land around the Oka detoxification centre. There are no plans to attack the centre. No one is being interned there — least of all the innocent children who should be In school. They are welcome to leave at any time. The armed people behind the razor wire can either lay down their weapons and accept the offer of the Canadian Forces to be placed in custody. Or confine themselves in the detoxification centre Indefinitely. Either way, thc ultimate result will be the same — they will have to submit themselves to the Canadian criminal justice system. Members of this !louse have an opportunity, today, to speak with one voice in calling upon the Warriors to lay down their arms and submit themselves to the Canadian justice system. Once the guns are down, we will be in a position to hand the disputed land over to the people of Kanesatake. We will, also, be free to explore new ways to resolve their historical land claims. In the meantime, there Is much to do -- a rd many legitimate grievances to address — elsewhere in Canada. Over the past year we have been quietly discussing an agenda with native leaders to address issues of concern to ail of Canada's native peoples. It Is time to begin to put this agenda Into operation. Canada's aboriginal peoples deserve a specat. place In this country as our first citizens, based on the aboriginal and treaty rights • recognized in the Constitution.