Stepping Up The Land Claims: One Man's Opinion

By Ben Meisner

    
Last Week the Auditor General said that we have got to speed up the land claims settlements in BC. We have spent hundreds of millions of dollars but have not had any claims settled.
When Oh When will we finally have the courage to do the proper thing and settle them in one final swoop.

The settlement is so simply as to be silly.

The problem however is that the negotiators, the lawyers, the chiefs, and indeed the government don’t want to address it.

Call every single person with a land claim in, have them sign on the bottom line for what ever figure you choose , say one million dollars over 20 years. Every single native receives that money and then signs off any further claims against BC, Canada or whoever.

They become like us, just ordinary Canadians.

$1 million dollars to compensate for any previous damages.

You can’t do it this way you say, the average Canadian native doesn’t know how to look after the money.  Who says, the chiefs of the tribe?  The  government, or the negotiators? If we continue to treat these people like they must be looked after because they can’t do it for themselves, nothing will change .

Of course there will be those who will fall through the cracks with that kind of money, you don’t need to look any further then the rank ands file of society to see where that happens every day.

It gives the people who after all are the providers of the purse, some finality to the matter.

No need for special rights negotiations, no need for any of the special housing or special areas set aside. The average family of four would have, four million dollars, surely enough to do, or acquire anything they might want in life. If they want a special area a few families can get together and buy it.

Now I know it sounds pretty simple, but who says it won’t work?  Until we finally get our heads screwed on right in the matter, it will be another 100 years before the land claims are settled.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.   

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