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26/04/2001

Commission Recommends Negotiation of Cowessess Claim

Ottawa (April 26, 2001) - The Indian Claims Commission recommended today that the federal government accept for negotiation a claim by the Cowessess First Nation involving the First Nation's surrender of more than 20,000 acres from its reserve near Broadview, Saskatchewan.

Cowessess First Nation maintained that the 1907 surrender was invalid because it did not comply with procedures mandated by the Indian Act. The Commission's two-member panel concluded that the Government of Canada owes an outstanding lawful obligation to the Cowessess First Nation.

The First Nation formally requested the Indian Claims Commission to conduct an inquiry in 1996, two years after the federal government rejected the Cowessess claim. One legal issue and two factual issues were put to the panel. The legal issue concerned the interpretation of section 49(1) of the Indian Act; the factual issues involved the number of eligible voters in attendance at the surrender meeting and the number of valid votes cast in favour of surrender.

Commissioner Roger Augustine emphasized that a major purpose underlying the surrender provisions of the Indian Act is to protect a Band from exploitative or ill-considered transactions concerning its land base. "Of key importance to the inquiry was the question of how many eligible voters of the Cowessess band had attended the surrender meeting and whether a majority of eligible voting members had assented to the surrender. Our conclusion, consistent with the beliefs of the elders who gave evidence at the community session, is that a valid majority vote was not attained."

The ICC was established in 1991. Its mandate is: to inquire, at the request of a First Nation, into specific claims that have been rejected by the federal government or where the First Nation disputes the compensation criteria being considered in negotiations; and to provide mediation services on consent of the parties at any stage of the claims process.

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