Quote:
Originally Posted by GirlySports
Is it simply a matter of repealing the Indian Act or is funding tied to it as well?
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The problem is what do you replace the Indian Act with. You need a document to replace that that specifies how the federal government will fulfill its treaty obligations.
There is also significant disagreement within First Nations Bands on what should be done. There is the anti development all land is sacred and cannot be owned and the pro development group. The groups that hold the spiritual connection paramount oppose changes that would allow the sale/ownership of land.
There is also good historical reason to believe that any move to allow bands to sell their land is really just another plot by the whtieman to steel it as has been done since the treaties were signed. And in some ways that is exactly what would happen as businesses would exploit corruption within bands to obtain needed land. So while the well run bands would be better off under such an arrangement the poorly run ones would be exploited.
I actually think Harper was on the right track requiring auditing of band financials in exchange for funding. The goal being to establish good independant governance on reserves while not dictating how money is spent.