Samer Muscati

TTAWA (CUP) -- Quebec

tists will need more than a mere um to achieve independence from say some native leaders. They will

id the go-ahead from aboriginal

ithin the province, or Quebec’s ould be deemed invalid and rejected da and the world community.

new royal commission report

es that view, and states that the bovernment should resort to ‘‘what- asures it deems necessary’’ to Quebec aboriginal and treaty rights ent of a unilateral declaration of dence by the province. The federal ent should take appropriate action ting aboriginal rights, but only after tion with native groups says the leased Sept 15, by the Royal Com- on Aboriginal Peoples.

bme of these actions may include Quebec recognition as an independ- b and lobbying the international

ity to do the same, as well as

ng federal officials to disregard the ion, states the study.

e federal government would be

ible for protecting aboriginal rights safeguards currently in the Cana- stitution would disappear with sovereignty.

Even if Quebec included protections ginal and treaty rights in its new tion, those protections could be

: by Quebec at any time,’’ the report

len Gabriel, head of communica-

r the $60 million commission, said

y have received no political response study from either the federal or governments.

ohn Bray, director of communica-

t Indian Affairs and Northern

pment, said that the federal govern- ould not issue any comment until the ‘sion submits its final report early

ar,

lowever, Indian Affairs Minister Irwin, announced last May that the government would honour its

tional responsibilities towards

nal peoples, and that they would have on of staying in Canada, with their les, if the province separates. He

hat aboriginal people have been

n Quebec for 10,000 years and have it to self-determination.

boriginals claim that they should be tedraw Quebec’s borders if the € separates. They maintain that only n choose whether to join a new

tober 17, 1995

FERENDUM: NATIVE RIGHTS ORGOTTEN BY SEPERATISTS

(Source: Ottawa Bureau)

viata aati

nation of Quebec or remain in Canada.

The Cree Nation have taken an active role in the referendum debate, since Quebec independence could make their plight in the province even more bleak. Last month, the Cree flatly rejected a provincial government invitation to help draft a new constitution should Quebeckers vote for independence.

The Parti Quebecois have had prob- lems in gaining the trust of aboriginals in Quebec and convincing them to separate because of past hostilities by the PQ towards treaty and aboriginal rights.

Notably, in the 1970s, the Cree were forced to allocate large segments of their land for mega-power projects.

Bill Namagoose, executive director for the Grand Council of the Cree, says that his peoples connections with their lands have lasted for thousands of years before Quebec and Canada even existed.

‘He is bewildered by PQ leader Jacques} Parizeau’s claim that the federal govern- ment’s responsibilities to the Cree were terminated with the 1977 James Bay agree- ment.

The agreement extinguished the native groups’ traditional aboriginal rights in exchange for compensation, but cannot be amended without the approval of the federal and provincial governments, and the abo- riginal peoples.

He said that if Cree rights were extinguished, then Quebeckers similarly extinguished their rights when they surren- dered to the British at the time of the conquest of 1760.

‘*They have absolutely no moral or legal ground to take Cree land with them. We have a treaty with Canada,”’ he said. ‘*The Cree nation is being kidnapped . . . you can’t just stake your claim on the globe and make a country.”’

Namagoose said that Canada is constitutionally obligated to protect native rights, and the Cree are considering legal action to force Canada to protect those rights.

The Cree and Inuit will each hold separate referendums on Quebec sover- eignty before the rest of the province votes. The texts of the questions will be released later this month.

Cree and Inuit land claims currently represent more than half of the province.

David Cliche, Quebec Premier Parizeau’s special adviser on native affairs, has said that an independent Quebec will retain its territorial integrity, and that his government would not respect the outcome of any referendum that gives aboriginals a mandate to secede.

Campus News:

STUDENTS CAPTIVATED

BY SPEAKER

by Steve Ellis

**T’ve never seen people pay so much attention to a speaker in the Pit!”’ said an astounded Fidel Murphy, Student Union Vice President External, as he exited Robertson Library in the early afternoon of October the fourth.

His comments were in response to the attentiveness of a group of over fifty students as they listened to an impassioned speech from a man dealing with AIDS and HIV on PEI.

Leonard Tierney, a speaker from AIDS PEI, spoke without reservation to the crowd about his experiences. Tierney and his wife both contracted the HIV virus while living in Alberta in 1989. His wife, preg- nant at the time she became infected, passed the disease on to their now six year old daughter. Mrs. Tierney has since developed AIDS and passed away.

The important message that Tierney tried to pass on to the students was that AIDS is a disease that can affect everyone -- not just homosexuals and IV drug users. ‘‘I want to put a face to the disease.’’ said Tierney.

Mr. Tierney, who has now been living with HIV for seven years, appealed to students not to turn their backs to this horrible affliction. Now thirty-five, Tierney said ‘‘I want to live another thirty-five years,’’ but he later added ‘‘I can’t do it without acceptance. I can’t do it without support. I can’t do it without hope.”’

The presentation was arranged through a co-operative effort between AIDS PEI and the UPEI Student Union, in recog- nition of National AIDS Awareness week.

Vice President Internal Tara Inman chaired the AIDS Awareness committee and in addition to the speech, organized a strong UPEI presence at ‘‘the walk ’95", a fundraiser for AIDS education.

When asked how she felt the presen- tation in the Pit had gone, Inman cheerfully replied, ‘‘I was really pleased. It was really nice to see so many people taking an interest in such an important issue.’’

National AIDS Awareness week ran

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