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[spacer.gif] [spacer.gif] OUR COMMUNITY » Aboriginal Canada Portal » Arthritis Society » Literacy BC » Canuck Foundation » United Way of Lower Mainland » Variety Club » Vancouver Public Library » The Rick Hansen Institute [spacer.gif] [spacer.gif] Our Partners » National Post Online » Fireworks Entertainment » allCanadiansport.ca » medbroadcast.com » Canada NewsWire » Infomart.ca » Financial Post DataGroup [spacer.gif] [spacer.gif] [spacer.gif] COLUMN Campbell makes a diplomatic journey Vaughn Palmer Vancouver Sun Tuesday, April 30, 2002 [s.gif] ADVERTISEMENT [s.gif] [story;kw=ccstorybox;loc=storybox;sz=250x250;kw=van+vs+columnists;stil e=4;ord=9?] VICTORIA - Premier Gordon Campbell made an important, though low-key, journey Friday when he paid his first visit to New Aiyansh, seat of government of the Nisga'a nation. Mr. Campbell had never ventured into the Nisga'a lands during his long fight against their treaty, a lapse leading to suspicions that he lacked respect for aboriginal people. But Friday's visit, though lasting only half a day, finally provided closure to the controversy. Mr. Campbell helicoptered in from Terrace with Attorney-General Geoff Plant and a trio of government staffers. The weather cooperated and the travellers were suitably impressed by Nisga'a hospitality, including what I'm told was a lavish midday feast. The premier tried the sea lion stew and professed to like it. There was also a summit, as the diplomats would put it, between heads of government: Premier Campbell, on behalf of British Columbia, and Joe Gosnell, formerly chief, now president of the Nisga'a Lisims nation, as it is known. Mindful of the need to avoid painful subjects, neither leader raised the B.C. Liberals' referendum on native land claims. The Nisga'a regard the mail in-ballot as a mistake, albeit one that is irrelevant to their own situation: "The referendum cannot and will not affect the rights that we have secured under our treaty." The Liberals were gratified that any native leader would be prepared to meet with them in mid-referendum, never mind that the Nisga'a are on record as believing that a boycott is the best way to support other First Nations. President Gosnell, in his remarks, cited more practical concerns, such as the 71-per-cent unemployment rate among the Nisga'a people. Premier Campbell, whose government approved financing for a highway into New Aiyansh as one of its first acts in office, listened attentively. Then, in his own remarks Mr. Campbell offered commitments to cooperate with the Nisga'a government on programs in forestry, health care, education and technology. It was a reminder that for all of the talk of finality in treaty negotiations, First Nations will be bound into a dependent relationship with the federal and provincial governments indefinitely. The diplomatic niceties of the premier's visit were conducted at the $8-million assembly building where the 39-member Nisga'a legislature, the Wilp Si'ayuuthl, presides over B.C.'s first full-fledged experiment in aboriginal self-government. The venue carried symbolic resonance, because the Liberals, in their fight against the Nisga'a treaty, were mainly trying to overturn the self-government provisions. The Liberals challenged the treaty in the legislature, then in the courts, in a battle that was unavoidably personalized because Mr. Campbell and Mr. Plant insisted on attaching their names to the lawsuit. They dropped the court action after winning the 2001 election, the result of which put them in the awkward position of challenging the treaty as plaintiffs even as they were bound to defend it as premier and attorney-general. Once the lawsuit was out of the way, Attorney-General Plant met with the Nisga'a leadership and pledged to uphold the treaty and all of its provisions, including those regarding self-government. The invitation for the premier to visit New Aiyansh followed soon afterward. "I agreed with much of the treaty and disagreed with some parts of it," was the way Mr. Campbell characterized his stance in his remarks Friday. "However we made a commitment to B.C. and to the Nisga'a people . . . we want you to know that we have every intention of living up to our obligations under the treaty and working with you to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible." As regards smooth transitions, President Gosnell provided a nice footnote on when he invited Premier Campbell to bring the entire B.C. Liberal cabinet northward for a session in the Nisga'a legislative chamber. I'm thinking it was his way of saying that now that the Liberals have accepted the reality of Nisga'a self-government, the Nisga'a are prepared to extend the same measure of recognition to the Liberals. - - - As of Monday, the chief electoral officer was reporting more than 600,000 ballots returned in the provincial referendum. That is a significant level of public participation and more than I had expected. With two weeks to go before the ballots must be in, the number will climb. Still, it is worth noting that even if as many as 700,000 people choose to participate, there will be twice as many eligible voters who did not. vpalmer@direct.ca © Copyright 2002 Vancouver Sun [spacer.gif] [search_web2.gif] __________________ [spacer.gif] [b_search.gif]-Submit [search_stories2.gif] __________________ [spacer.gif] [b_search.gif]-Submit [spacer.gif] [spacer.gif] [s.gif] [story;loc=advertising;sz=120x60;kw=van+vs+columnists;stile=10;ord=9?] [s.gif] [story;kw=cherrynewspaper;loc=advertising;sz=120x90;kw=van+vs+columnis ts;stile=10;ord=9?] [s.gif] [story;loc=advertising;sz=120x240;kw=van+vs+columnists;stile=11;kw=ccs kyscraper;ord=9?] [spacer.gif] [spacer.gif] [spacer.gif] About Us | Contact Us | Advertising | Privacy | Terms | FAQ | Site Map | Our Cities | U.S. Cities [spacer.gif] [L_dashed.gif] [spacer.gif] Copyright © 2002 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest Global Communications Corp. All rights reserved. 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