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An Ontario Indian band does not have a constitutional right to enact its own labour code on reserve lands, the province's highest court ruled yesterday in an unusual case testing the scope of aboriginal self-government.

The Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation contended its self-proclaimed labour code, which would ban strikes at a popular casino on its reserve near Port Perry, was an exercise of its aboriginal and treaty rights to regulate work activities and control access to its land.

But in a 3-0 decision yesterday, the Ontario Court of Appeal said the band mischaracterized the legal right it was claiming. [...]

About 1,000 people work at the Great Blue Heron Casino. The Canadian Auto Workers was certified as their union six months before the band enacted its code, which was modelled on the Canada Labour Code.

However, its code also required a union to pay a $3,000 fee, and obtain Dbaaknigewin permission, to speak to workers on the reserve, as well as charging $12,000 to file an unfair labour practices complaint.

The CAW filed a complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

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There are 173 members of the band, 40 of whom live on the reserve.

In attempting to override the rights in the Labour Relations Act, the band enacted its own Code on June 6, 2003.

" The Code was passed at an informal Band meeting of the Band Chief and two Band Councillors. There was no public notice of the meeting and no minutes were kept."

The band's argument made reference to:

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the United Nations Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (1993/4) (since adopted by the United Nations General Assembly). This convention, which Canada voted against and has not ratified, recognizes the right of indigenous peoples to “self-determination”, to govern their own lands and to have their own distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions.

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This is unfortunately not the first, nor likely the last, reactionary use of "indigenous peoples rights" to try to limit modern rights which all Canadians should have.

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Casinos Austria International Ltd

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Hmmmm....

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Originally posted by jeff house:
The band, which owns a casino in which 1000 people are employed, tried to make it impossible for those employees to unionize.

[snip]

This is unfortunately not the first, nor likely the last, reactionary use of "indigenous peoples rights" to try to limit modern rights which all Canadians should have.

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These issues will continue to arise unless FN bands (A) have complete sovereignty over their territory or (B) no sovereignty over their territory. Anything else—a semi-sovereignty—will inevitably result in a tug-of-war to determine those matters over which the bands will have control and those matters over which they will not have control.

ETA: Alternative (C)—semi-sovereignty—is not necessarily a good or bad thing. But, semi-sovereignty, by definition, will inevitably result in ongoing battles over who controls what.

[ 28 November 2007: Message edited by: Sven ]

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Originally posted by Makwa:
For our people to adopt the worst elements of the dominant culture as an exercise in 'self government' is horrifying to me.

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Originally posted by Sven:
Please elaborate.

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Originally posted by Makwa:
No.

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Originally posted by Sven:
[QB]
ETA: Alternative (C)—semi-sovereignty—is not necessarily a good or bad thing. But, semi-sovereignty, by definition, will inevitably result in ongoing battles over who controls what.

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Originally posted by Doug:

Not necessarily. It does mean that there will be a dispute over what exactly the division of powers should be among native and non-native levels of government - and as this shows, that's getting to be an increasingly important issue.

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