Copyright © 2002 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA - The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Matthew Coon Come, today rejected the B.C. referendum on Treaty Rights.

“This was a politically and morally unjust exercise,” said Chief Coon Come. “Everybody knows there are far more non-Native Canadians than First Nations people. So to subject our rights – which concern our status as peoples and our human rights to self-determination, and fair access to lands and resources – to a stacked, majority vote is absurd. This is a low point in Canadian-Aboriginal relations, coming just 20 years after our rights were enshrined in Canada’s Constitution.”

“I reject the exercise itself. But its results – a 91 % average anti-First Nations rights vote – demonstrate that it was designed to vanquish our peoples through a political show of force. A referendum cannot extinguish Aboriginal and Treaty Rights any more than it can extinguish our inherent right to self-government. I’m calling on the Campbell government to respect the Canadian Constitution and the laws of this land,” added National Chief Coon Come.

“I encourage the province to return to good faith, unconditional negotiations with the First Nations in British Columbia. Should the government not respond favourably to such a fair approach, the First Nations in BC will have to decide if they wish to pursue this process with the government. The ball is now in the government’s court and the AFN will support the BC Summit in whatever direction it decides to take,” added National Chief Coon Come.

Nevertheless, the National Chief applauded the very low voter turnout in the recent referendum on Treaty Rights in British Columbia.

“This low rate of participation confirms that a majority of B.C. residents have a strong sense of fairness and refused to become the pawns of a transparent ploy to make the Constitution of Canada and international human rights norms irrelevant. A great number of citizens of this province, and the rest of the country, clearly recognize that their Supreme Law must be respected, and that the only way to reconcile the interests of First Nations and Canadian governments is through fair, equitable and comprehensive negotiation processes that respect the Canadian Constitution and human rights”, stated National Chief Matthew Coon Come.

“The Premier and Attorney General for BC have promoted intolerance and mistrust where, as leaders, they should have been seeking to find solutions that would eradicate such sentiments. I think the majority of BC voters have actually taught them a lesson in these areas, and I hope they will have the wisdom to hear it and to listen,” concluded the National Chief.

The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing 633 First Nations communities across Canada and First Nations citizens living in urban and rural communities.