The Antidote To The Obviousness Of The Ron...Real Analysis From A Real Reader.

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Yesterday I wrote about how the Globe's man of all things Obvious was totally mesmerized by the Premier's shiny 'treaty reform' bauble.

A little later longtime reader 'scotty from denman' weighed in.

Brilliantly:

Christy's got one thing right: the William (Tsilhqot'in) SCoC decision changed everything; she neglected to mention it's in terms of what the BC Liberals can get away with. Otherwise the William decision basically confirmed BC's obligation to fulfil the Royal Proclamation 1763 when it signed on to the Terms of Confederation in 1871. The official provincial notion that Aboriginal sovereignty had been "extinguished" when BC confederated has already been rejected by earlier decisions, but until Aboriginal Title was defined by the court's decision in this case, especially as it pertains to "infringement" of Aboriginal Right interim to treaties (which almost all BC FNs have yet to get), government could always hold those Rights to ransom with both intransigence and impunity. It's policy has been to reward its cronies resources it never had authority to licence while putting FN claims over a barrel: accept only a share of resource benefits to which they are entitled, and likely compromise any future treaty claim, or have their assets seized until they do. The government could unfairly wait-it-out in prosperity while the FNs did in penury.

The BC Liberals have tried to keep wounds from heeling toward long-overdue treaties by monkey-wrenching the process: first it was Gordo who personally challenged Aboriginal Right by way of judicial injunction against the historic Nisga'a Treaty; then as Premier he inflicted that odious Referendum which saw half the ballots destroyed in protest; then a sudden turn-around with Gordo feted with tribal honours at every big-house in the province; and eventually the spate of coercive resource deals that dodge real treaties and replace then with crony-tickling conditions on FNs accessing their own resources. The BC Liberals never wanted treaties to work.

Now, despite that fancy, Hare-like BC Liberal footwork, it looks like the Tortoise-like courtroom route has gotten BC FNs to the finish-line first. It's like a dance where the BC Liberals picked their own partners up until the William decision, and have smashed the victrola now they can't. But now it's BC FNs got them over the barrel, a complete Hare-and-Tortoise reversal: make a deal or forget about pipelines, tankers, mines and LNG, while FNs proceed to develop their newly defined Aboriginal title without further ado. The waiting games are over.

Personally, I think the prancing majorette's move is reactionary and rash, and shows real division within her caucus---or between her office and the rest of caucus, more like it. Whatever it means politically is probably irrelevant in terms of treaty settlement post-William decision. The BC Liberals appear not to know what to do next. Bargaining at the treaty table in good faith seems never to dawn on them even when the jig's up.



I mean, honestly, tell me where you have read a detailed, fact-backed/work-shown analysis like that anywhere, in either the Lotuslandian and/or the National public prints, on this matter and I'll eat my coonskin cap.

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Man.

That scotty guy who lives on the island (i.e. not the west end street) should get his own blog.

Alternatively, maybe I should just post his and other insightful readers' comments more often.


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