Poisonous atmosphere inside Aboriginal Affairs branch delaying settlement of treaty-related claims: letter
First Nation claims seeking redress from Ottawa over treaty-related wrongs face months-long delays over “insignificant issues,” according an anonymous letter to Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt penned by bureaucrats working in the departmental branch that handles the files.
By Jorge Barrera
APTN National News
First Nation claims seeking redress from Ottawa over treaty-related wrongs face months-long delays over “insignificant issues,” according an anonymous letter to Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt penned by bureaucrats working in the departmental branch that handles the files.
The letter, which also alleged branch officials feel “bullied and intimidated” by their superiors has already led the department to hire a human resources consultant to deal with the issue, according to Valcourt’s office.
“(Aboriginal Affairs) is aware of the letter in question,” said Valcourt’s office in an emailed statement. “The department has engaged an independent HR advisor to meet with staff and listen to employee concerns.”
Valcourt’s office said there would be no additional comment on “internal human resource management issues.”
The letter, sent over the summer, paints a bleak picture of the Treaties and Aboriginal Government, Specific Claims branch and accuses management of arbitrarily holding up specific claim settlements with First Nations for months over matters that have little impact on the actual claim.
“Delays of several months is not unusual for even the most simplest and straightforward matter,” said the letter, which was obtained by APTN National News. “Settlement agreements are needlessly delayed over minor and insignificant issues that have already been addressed. Constant and endless reviews come with continual requests for changes. These are not substantive changes….which do not change the substance of agreements…We believe this is largely due to micromanaging.”
Specific claims centre on treaty-related grievances over Ottawa’s mismanagement of First Nation funds and assets like land.
The letter claims the delays on settlement agreements are impacting Ottawa’s relationship with First Nations.
APTN National News received only one page of the anonymous letter which was allegedly written by a “cross-section group of senior and experienced employees” as a “measure of last resort” after attempts to deal with the issue through the normal channels failed.
The letter claims that the branch is afflicted by low morale caused by “random and arbitrary decisions.”
“We also feel bullied and intimidated. Our collective agreement rights are under constant attack by a management team that is aware that the delays, for example, in the grievance process allow them to ride roughshod,” the letter states.
Aboriginal Affairs says it has settled 95 claims totaling $1.8 billion since 2007 and cleared up a backlog of 541 claims at the assessment stage over the same time period.
Ottawa, in agreement with the Assembly of First Nation, created the Specific Claims Tribunal to handle claims rejected by the department or that reach a stalemate at the negotiating table. The tribunal was created in 2008 with the view it would have the final say on contested claims.
The tribunal’s creation also led to the AFN backing away from a planned day of action on June 29, 2007, which led to the shut-down of Hwy 401 in Ontario for nearly 12 hours.
Critics say the department has been sending take-it or leave-it letters to First Nations to clear up its backlog and redirect claims to the tribunal.
The tribunal is currently handling about 46 claims.
This past March Ottawa took the tribunal to the Federal Court of Appeal over a ruling siding with the Kitselas First Nation in British Columbia over the loss of its village lands. It was only the second decision handed down by the tribunal since its inception.
@JorgeBarrera
