Pre-election survey shows N.B. parties divided on Indigenous title, tax-sharing
3 parties responded to survey from Wolastoqey Nation ahead of October vote
Results of a pre-election survey by the Wolastoqey Nation of New Brunswick show stark differences in how three of the political parties would tackle issues like title and tax-sharing if they form the next government.
This week, responses from the incumbent Progressive Conservatives, as well as the Liberal Party and Green Party were all published in full by the organization, which represents six Indigenous nations in the province.
The People's Alliance and NDP did not respond to the survey, the group said in a statement.
The organization distributed questions on Aug. 18 about Aboriginal title, treaty rights, systemic racism, policing and consultation on resource development and land use.
"It's a report card really, for the current government, is the way I look at it," said Chief Allan Polchies of Sitansisk First Nation, also known as St. Mary's, in an interview.
Progressive Conservative responses to the survey largely match policy decisions already taken by Blaine Higgs's majority government.
If re-elected, the Tories would continue to "respectfully disagree" that First Nation lands were never ceded, as the organization has said, citing the Peace and Friendship Treaties.
That dispute is central to several ongoing title claims launched by Wolastoqey and Mi'kmaw communities.
Polchies says the Progressive Conservative government has engaged in fear-mongering about what that title claim would entail for private landowners and he believes the party continues to do so in its survey responses.
"For any landowner out there that owns their own land, and has a beautiful home on it, we are not after you," Polchies said. "We are after the government for, of course, Crown land that they feel belongs to them."
The Wolastoqey claim was launched in 2020 and names the federal government, N.B. Power, six companies predominantly in the forestry industry and 19 of their subsidiaries.
Both the Liberal and Green parties take the opposite stance, agreeing with the organization that First Nations' land was not surrendered.
A re-elected Progressive Conservative government would continue negotiating "development agreements" to replace tax-sharing agreements it cancelled in 2021. Its response says those contracts had "created an unsustainable drain on the tax base."
The Liberals and Greens are both in favour of re-establishing tax-sharing agreements, but the Liberals would negotiate new contracts while the Greens say they would reinstate the cancelled ones.
In a news release, the Wolastoqey chiefs say the PC response on systemic racism focuses on past actions and gives less information about future commitments.
According to that response, "Work has begun or will begin soon to address over 75 per cent" of the recommendations made in a 2022 report by the province's systemic racism commissioner, Manju Varma.
The Green Party promises to implement those same recommendations, along with "an Indigenous-led, independent public inquiry into New Brunswick's justice and policing systems."
Wolastoqiyik leaders have been calling for such an inquiry since summer 2020, when two Indigenous people were killed in just over a week by officers on two separate police forces.
That call was reignited last week after Steven (Iggy) Dedam, a Mi'kmaw man living in Elsipogtog First Nation, was shot and killed by police.
The Liberal response doesn't mention a public inquiry, but says a Liberal government would perform a "review of existing laws and law-making processes," make institutional anti-discrimination policies stronger and ensure "inclusive hiring practices and representation on boards and commissions."
The party also promises to make "cultural competency training" mandatory across policing and the justice system.
Land-use and resource management consultation is another topic parties weigh in on in the survey.
The Progressive Conservative reply says it would give First Nations "meaningful involvement in resource development projects," specifically citing natural gas as a priority. They say a five-step consultation process has already been implemented.
The Liberals say First Nations would be "at the table and engaged on all files" if their party forms government, and that they would prioritize adopting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Greens pledge new legislation that would replace the Crown Lands and Forests Act, which it calls outdated and not reflective of the Crown's treaty obligations, and a dispute resolution process to keep the court system as a last resort.
The Liberals and Greens say the consultation process put in place by the governing PCs must be updated but they do not say how, citing the need for input from Indigenous leaders.
Ultimately, Polchies hopes to see the next government take Indigenous voices and concerns more seriously.
"We've sat down with this current government, and it's gotten nowhere," he said. "We want to be able to ... have that nation-to-nation relationship with a government that's going to listen."
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