AFN Congratulates Specific Claims Tribunal on Commencement of Operations
June 1, 2011
(Ottawa, ON) – After an initial delay, the Specific Claims Tribunal officially opened today to begin receiving applications for the resolution of specific claims. The Specific Claims Tribunal Act, passed in Parliament in June 2008, was the result of the Government of Canada’s “Justice At Last” Specific Claims Action Plan.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo stated: “We know there are some outstanding administrative and relationship issues that need to be addressed by the federal government concerning Tribunal members, so we congratulate and thank the members of the Tribunal for putting the interests of First Nations peoples and their land rights first, rather than delay commencement of operations until all outstanding administrative matters are fully dealt with.”
The development of the Specific Claims Tribunal Act benefited from a cooperative approach in the form of the First Nations and Canada Task Force on Specific Claims. Political and technical representatives from First Nations and the federal government served on the Task Force with the objective of producing legislation to create the Tribunal. The Task Force was discontinued after the essential work had been achieved. The implementation of the legislation has been the responsibility of the federal bureaucracy and members of the Tribunal.
The objective and purpose of the Specific Claims Tribunal is to ensure impartiality and fairness in the process of claims resolution. More specifically, the Tribunal will be able to make binding decisions where claims have been rejected by the Government of Canada or where negotiations have failed to achieve settlement.
“Many First Nations across the country have been waiting for years to get action on their claims. If the government doesn’t deliver justice regarding First Nations claims, then the expectation is that the Tribunal will indeed deliver justice at last,” National Chief Atleo said.
The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada. AFN and National Chief Atleo are on twitter. Follow @AFN_Updates, @AFN_Comms and @NCAtleo.
Contact information:
Don Kelly, Assembly of First Nations A/Communications Director
613-241-6789 ext. 334 or cell: 613-292-2787 or e-mail dkelly@afn.ca
Jenna Young, Assembly of First Nations Communications Officer
613-241-6789, ext 401 or cell: 613-314-8157 or e-mail jyoung@afn.ca
Alain Garon, Assembly of First Nations Bilingual Communications Officer
613-241-6789, ext 382 or cell: 613-292-0857 or agaron@afn.ca
