First Nations Voice

OCTOBER 2015 • PAGE 5 FederalelectiondayisOctober19. Didyourvoterinformationcardarriveinthemail? Ittellsyouthatyou'reregisteredtovote,andexplains whenandwhereyoucanvote. Ifyoudidn'treceiveone,orifithasthewrong nameoraddress,check,updateorcompleteyour registrationatelections.ca.Orcall1-800-463-6868 ( TTY1-800-361-8935). ElectionsCanadahasalltheinformationyouneedto bereadyto vote. Ifyougotthiscard,you'rereadytovote! I n Winnipeg last month as part of a campaign stop, Stephen Harper said that his government will not take the Kapyong Barracks court battle to the Supreme Court. Instead, Harper said talks are already well under way with the four Treaty One First Nations - Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation, Peguis, Brokenhead and Long Plains First Nation. I just hope it's more than talking though because the federal government, doesn't matter which party, has a duty to consult and accommodate. From reading news stories and the resulting comments, many people are clinging to the notion that all the federal government has to do is talk with the First Nations and then can turn around to sell the land to any interested buyer. Hold on a sec' there because the government can't sell the former military base to anyone after just talking to First Nations. The government is obliged to consult and accommodate in good faith. Note the second word accommodate. It's that second word, accommodate, that has been missing from the vast majority of the mainstream stories I've read about the Kapyong Barracks court battle. I have been covering the Kapyong Barracks story from the beginning and I was there to interview then Peguis First Nation Chief Glen Hudson right after the first court victory. In fact, as a journalist and columnist for over twenty years now I have been following in my own fashion many of the legal victories that are beginning to serve as a framework for interactions between business, governments, the public and First Nations. Now the duty to consult and accommodate basically means the government at the end of the day has to put forward a substantial and open offer to bargain with the four First Nations. The government negotiators just can't put up their hands and walk away from the table, metaphorically speaking of course, that we talked and now the land can be sold. If the government tried that, well, all the parties would once again be appearing in a court of law while the barracks just sit there wasting away. And that would just turn a potential win/ win situation into another outright loss. By Trevor Greyeyes REmEmBER ThE dUTy TO aCCOmmOdaTE IN KapyONg BaRRaCKS Saga

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