Professional Documents
Culture Documents
6 January 2013
recent legislation erases indigenous rights formerly protected by treaty. These changes
to old treaty laws affect everything from Indigenous ownership of reserve lands to
education to safe drinking water and open the way to further erosion of First Nations
cultures and deeper impoverishment of people living on reserves. CSWILA urges you to
rectify the appearance created by recent legislation that your government is willing to
defer to corporate interests in mining, logging and oil extraction at almost any cost,
including the transgression of legal and moral rights that reside in the concept of
Aboriginal jurisdiction.
We continue to believe that it would be gracious of you to meet personally with
Chief Spence, informally and off the record, as a prelude to the formal contributions she
will be making during your talks with the delegations.
CWILA stands in fervent support of First Nations' constitutionally protected
rights to their lands and waters. We are steadfast in our solidarity with the founders of
Idle No More, and with other indigenous women who have called upon us to support
them in this struggle.
We thank you for scheduling talks, and urge you, in the strongest terms, to use
them as an opportunity to amend current legislation in a spirit of principled cooperation
between your government and the First Nations of this country.