Sask. gov't will face legal action for treaty violations, warns treaty commissioner
CBC
Saskatchewan's treaty commissioner has warned the provincial government that First Nations people will seek legal action if the province doesn't stop the sale of Crown land and change its trespassing laws.
Mary Culbertson said the government is acting in violation of First Nations' treaty rights and ignoring its treaty obligations. She wrote a letter last week to government outlining this, emphasizing that time is running out for meaningful action.
"If they don't want to have a dialogue, then that's fine. But then they're going to have to be facing the consequences because people will be having days of action, possibly, and there can be litigation."
Culbertson said people have been calling for change for months to no avail.
Last April, a group Saskatchewan organizations representing 200,000 people asked the government to halt the liquidation of Crown land — public land owned by the province. They allege the government has sold nearly two million acres of Crown land since 2007, and said this violates treaty agreements and Indigenous rights, and also contributes to the loss of native prairie.
Culbertson said there's been no move to slow the sale of land and instead there's been further infringement of treaty rights in relation to land. The Office of the Treaty Commissoner signed the most recent letter dated Feb. 15.
The recent trespass law has also raised concern. It states that people who want to access a rural landowner's property for recreational purposes need to gain consent from the owner.
"There's more and more worry about what the impact is going to be on rights, on people exercising their treaty rights and of course, having safe spaces — safe land," she said.
Culbertson wants to help government officials understand what's at stake.
The government denied CBC's request for an interview, but confirmed they received Culbertson's letter. "It is currently being reviewed, and we cannot provide further comment at this time," a spokesperson wrote in an email.
Culbertson said that since the letter in April, she's heard from many more people concerned about the increasing sale of Crown land.The government has been widely criticized for the amount of Crown land sold off.
She said there's also too much being auctioned off to private owners meaning there is less public land for First Nations people to access and share.
"[The sale is] diminishing the ability to exercise treaty rights, it's diminishing land to be made available for treaty rights."
Furthermore, she said Treaty Land Entitlement Agreement means First Nations communities and people should have first rights to any Crown land that is up for sale, but First Nations people have not been given adequate notice.
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