National Claims Research Workshop October 8 & 9, 2014 Chiefs Committee on Claims: Update

Background The CCoC was formed in the early 1990s in response, in part, to the Oka Crisis It is comprised of one Chief and one technician each from the 10 regions across Canada This committee has met at least twice per year since 2007 Its focus has been on two central policy areas: –Specific Claims –Additions to Reserve The CCoC operates under a ToR that were adopted in 2010

Function Consistent with its ToR, the CCoC functions to: –Fulfill mandates set by the Chiefs-in-Assembly by way of resolution –Provide a point for national coordination and information sharing (eg, “State of Claims” newsletter) –Support advocacy through various means, including doing research, writing letters, establishing working groups, etc. –Track claims processing and data

July 15, 2014 (Halifax) At its last meeting, the CCoC made a number of decisions with respect to its ongoing operation: –Chiefs Harry St. Denis (QC) and Maureen Chapman (BC) appointed as co-chairs –Called for the development of a workplan to identify priority issues for the CCoC The current priority is on the legislative 5-year review that is expected to commence prior to Oct. 16 of this year We continue to await the release of the new ATR policy by the federal government

5-Year Review (1) Under federal legislation (SCTA), Canada is obliged to commence a 5-year review as follows: 41. (1) Within one year after the fifth anniversary of the coming into force of this Act, the Minister shall undertake a review of the mandate and structure of the Tribunal, of its efficiency and effectiveness of operation and of any other matters related to this Act that the Minister considers appropriate. In carrying out the review, the Minister shall give First Nations an opportunity to make representations. This establishes Oct. 16, 2014, as the last day to commence the Review within the four corners of the legislation

5-Year Review (2) Our concern is that the Minister may already have commenced the Review internally without informing us On Sept. 16, we received a letter from the Minister suggesting that: –planning for the 5-year review is well underway –AANDC is working with AFN in this regard Attempts on the part of the AFN to get information about the 5-year review from AANDC have not been successful Follow-up on our submission to AANDC from the Claims Gathering held this past March in Vancouver has not elicited any response It is in response to this scenario that AFN has filed an ATIP request relating to the 5-year review

5-Year Review ATIP AFN’s ATIP seeks a disclosure of information with respect to: –decisions that have been made in how the 5-year review will be conducted; –expected outcomes from the review and how these would be addressed; –federal staff involved in the planning / execution of the review; –other people / organizations that may be involved in the review; –consultation with internal and external stakeholders; –expenditures relating to the review including planning, hiring, funding external consultants or groups; –data that has been gathered that would inform the review; and –any correspondence that may have been sent internally or externally about the review.

Next Steps (1) We are not satisfied with Canada’s actions to date in anticipation of the 5-year review Canada has signalled a narrow rather than wide scope for this Review Canada has not engaged with the AFN for this Review which is inconsistent with the process that led to the development of the SCTA and the companion Political Agreement in the first place As a result, the CCoC is considering alternatives

Next Steps (2) One of the recommendations that has come from the CCoC around the 5-year review has focused on the establishment of a joint Federal-First Nations panel to hear from claimants and to issue a report Given our concerns about how the Review is being handled, consideration is being given to planning a parallel review facilitated by the AFN to hear from claimants and to issue a report The CCoC is expected to reconvene in the near future to consider this recommendation

Conclusion The CCoC continues to meet and help set direction for the AFN I welcome any comments or questions ~ Thank you ~