Matrimonial Real Property on Reserve Bill S-2

7/30/2019 Matrimonial Real Property on Reserve Bill S-2

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BERENS RIVER FIRST NATION

BOX 131BERENS RIVER, MB

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Prepared by: Councillor Joan Jack, LLB

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1. To start, I would like to say Miigwetch to the Committee1 forinviting me here and to the Southeast Tribal Council for gettingme here.

2. My name is Joan Jack and I have the privilege of serving mypeople as a part of the Berens River First Nation Chief & Council.My Portfolio on Council is Health, Social and Child & FamilyServices.

3. I left Berens River in a light snow storm on a 206 two days ago toget here!

4. On a personal note, I am the mother of six, or maybe 7, or maybemore if you count all the children who my husband and I haveloved over the last 20 years.

5. I am a survivor of domestic violence, which I suffered through inmy 20s. Different husband! Sometimes leaving is the answer.

6. I am also a lawyer and Member of the Manitoba Bar.

7. I ultimately stand here as an indigenous women to assert ourrights as indigenous women in an indigenous context.

8. Before I continue, I want to apologize from my heart as I willsurely offend someone and, while that is not my intent, I invite youto make peace with me later.

9. I dont know how many of you realize that its welfare day todayand for sure in Berens River will be abused tonight. But, sheprobably wont leave because the solutions to why we are violent,and why we tolerate violence, are not as simple as just leavingand dividing our poverty when you live on an isolated reserve.

1 Standing Committee on Status of Women, Canada


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10. When I was invited a short time ago, I began downloadingdocuments to review and realized I was causing a clear-cut, so Istopped.

11. Instead, I looked to see what other First Nation women inleadership were saying and found that on March 9th, 2007, WendyGrant-John submitted a Report of the Ministerial RepresentativeMatrimonial Real Property Issues on Reserves through the

Native Womens Association of Canada.

12. I found that Wendy said

The Ministerial Representatives key recommendationrespecting a legislative option is a concurrent

ju r isd ic tion modelin which First Nation jurisdiction overmatrimonial real property including dispute resolutionwould be immediately recognized and take paramountcy

over any conflicts with federal or provincial law.

Wendy went on to say

The viability and effectiveness of any legislativeframework will also depend on necessary financialresources being made available for implementation ofnon-legislative measures such as prevention of familyviolence programs2

13.And, I thought, I agree! Why isnt this legislation coming out ofsection 35 as concurrent jurisdiction? Maybe it cant be done?

2 Grant-John, Wendy, Report of the Ministerial Representative Matrimonial Real

Property Issues on Reserves, pp. 2/3.


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14.But, Im not going to get into legal intellectual gymnastics here even though its tempting because it is welfare day back homeand our people, my people are suffering, our families aresuffering.

15. We are suffering because we continue to resist colonization andassimilation by staying and living in terrible living conditionsbecause we love our land. We love Berens River.

16. For us, the majority of our people live on-reserve and more wouldcome home if there were opportunities.

17. So, we live without proper housing, water/sewer, roads, and thelist goes on and on. We must stop coping with alcohol and drugs.

18. But, what makes me the saddest is that apparently the majority ofCanadians cant figure out why we just dont all move to the citiesand get a job!

19. Well, we have moved to the cities and in the face of racism and alack of skills and education, we turn to crime as a source ofincome and have started gangs as a means of economic security.

20. Instead of working with us through legislation that implementsconcurrent jurisdiction out of s.35, the federal government has cutfunding to family violence programs, language programs, healthprograms, healing programs.

21. Basically no matter how many of us die, and we are dying, all theways in which we might continue healing and recovering fromcolonialism and replaced healing and education with a suite oflegislation and goodness knows who will understand orimplement these solutions!


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22. What federal department will administer this legislation?

23. Which court will administer this legislation? The court that fliesinto Berens River?

24. Where will the Berens River First Nation get the money to developand implement its own laws?

25. If the legislation is out of s. 91(24), which it is, then it is subject tothe Minister of Indian Affairs (sorry, no one back home knows thenew name).

26. We as, Indian Act Chiefs and Councils, will the administrator thelaw we develop in accordance with the rules set out in thislegislation and administer that law under the Minister of Indian

Affairs and become First Nation municipalities.

27. Just as there is Municipal Law subject to the provincial law, ourlaws will be subject to federal jurisdiction.

28. I dont think this is what Wendy meant by concurrent jurisdiction.

29. This legislation is another clear and deliberate step towards thecreation of municipal governments subject to federal power.

30. Thats not what Wendy said was the solution!

31. Id guess today, that only about 10% of First Nationsgovernments, and thats generous, have been able to muster theirown strength again sufficient to recover from the cultural genocideof the residential and day school assimilation policy to kill theIndian in the child.


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32. What I think is going on is that First Nation governments withoutTreaties are, again in my view, seeing the municipal solutions asa transitional solutions to ensure that more Indian moneydoesnt get transferred to the provincial governments and awayfrom their people.

33. I would say, honestly with deep respect, that these First Nationgovernments are all located near urban centers where they haveproperty that is actually worth money.

34. For the rest of usthe 90% who dont live near urban centers, wemostly live in mouldy old, over crowded houses that are the causeof much of the domestic violence and low education scores.

35.Dont get me wrong, there is no excuse or justification fordomestic violence, but if the federal and provincial governmentsreally wanted to help First Nation women and children on reservethey would work cooperatively with us to provide more housing

period.

36.Lets just start with houses that dont mould and see how thataffects domestic violence.

37. Yes, many, many First Nation women stay in abusiverelationships because they simply dont want to leave the houseas there is no other house to go to and the husband doesnt wantto leave the house either as where is the house that he would goto?

38. However, I know there are many, many more First Nation womenthat love their husbands or common-law spouses and just wantthe violence to stop. They do not want to leave. They want toheal. They want to heal with their spouses and children asa family.


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48. So, there is no way in my mind that we can call what is happeningin the rural, remote and isolated fly-in community circuit courtsanywhere in Canada justice or even access to justice.

49. Our young men, and even some older men, plead guilty to get itover with, do their time, learn how to be better criminals and thenare back home with a new skill set!

50. What I see with my own eyes everyday is our people suffering

from the depression caused by ongoing ethnocide, which leads toalcoholism - and alcoholism is a disease - are being punished forhaving a disease.

51.Thats like saying to people with diabetes who eat donuts - youare not eligible for dialysis when your kidneys fails because youate donuts so our solution is to punish you.

52. Its sad to see your own people, your young people, paraded

through the court like animals with no hope trapped.

53.And, its sad to see the federal government ignoring us andpushing for these solutions that are still based on assimilation thatresults in legislated racism.

54. I could be wrong, but I think that all the consultation, for the mostpart, in urban centers and those of us living on reserves withineven an hour from urban centers often do not have access tothese urban forums.

55. When I told people at home why I was coming to Ottawa, evensaying the words matrimonial real property out loud soundedridiculous, as the idea is so out of context!


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56.But Im here anyways because we, as the indigenous peoplescollectively and individually, are the legal constitutional rightsholders.

57. To that end, Berens River First Nation has not delegated anyauthority to any aboriginal provincial or territorial politicalorganization (PTO) to conduct consultations on our behalf on thisor any other matter.

58. The PTOs are not governments and the SCC has clearlyestablished that the duty to consult and accommodate is owed tous, on the ground in our homelands, as the constitutional rightsholders.

59. And, we are not stakeholders as the federal and provincialgovernments continues to call us.

60. Furthermore, the legal philiosphy underlying Bill S-2, or all

Canadian law for that matter, focuses on the individual, hence theBest Interests of the Child, as compared to the collective, or theBest Interest of the Family.

61. We are inherently a family/clan oriented people. Its still in ourblood. Thats why we leave work when our family needs us andour employers stand there scratching their heads.

62. Canadian law, including Bill S-2, makes the typical mistake offocusing on protecting children as the solution.

63. I believe that when we protect the family help the family heal,the child is safe and the community and nation grows strong together.


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64. This legislation, like all other legislation based on individualisticvalues, creates situations where the objective of protecting ourchildren becomes an economic development industry for thosepurporting to help us on all sides; regardless of good intentions that is the result administrative growth.

65. Instead, we should focus on the health of the family thesepeople have chosen to be together have chosen to havechildren together maybe ifthey didnt have such a miserable life

mouldy house with barely potable water and substandardeducation combined with no jobs they wouldnt turn to thealcohol and drugs for comfort that results in the addictivebehaviour causing family violence.

66. This legislation will not end family violence. Not in Berens Riveranyway. What is needed is healing.

Documents

Matrimonial Real Property on Reserve Bill S-2