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2 Tuesday September 15 2015 POLITICS FIRST NATIONS NEWS BRIEFS Hunter mauled by Grizzly in Mackenzie Mountains AhunterwasairliftedoutoftheMackenzieMountainsafter being dragged down an embankment by a Grizzly Thurs- day morning. He was spotting moose with a guide at about 11 a.m. and received multiple injuries when the bear at- tacked. The bear scared off when the guide red a shot re- mainsunaccountedfor.NeithermansawtheGrizzlybefore it attacked. The attack took place east of the Yukon border at 63 51 9.7200N 129 52 14.1564W according to the RCMP. TheinjuredhunterwasrescuedbyhelicoptertreatedinNor- manWellsandthentransportedbymedevactoYellowknife for further treatment. Chief DehCho First Nations negotiator Erasmus retires After 12 years at the table the chief negotiator for the De- hCho First Nations is retiring. Georges Erasmus a former AFN national chief and co-chair of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and Dene National Chief cited per- sonal and family reasons according to Grand Chief Herb Norwegian who praised him in a statement. This has been a very challenging year for the DehCho negotiations hesaid.Georges...hasworkedhardtoensureourrightsand interestsarebeingprotected.Governmenthasntshownmuch interestinrespectingourrights.Hewillbehardtoreplace. Booze a factor in fatal Inuvik capsize AmanisdeadafteraboatcapsizedintheAirportChannelin InuvikSaturdaynight.Aboatoperatorcameacrossthecap- sizedboatjustbefore7p.m.andfoundtheunresponsiveman inthewater.Thedriverandtwopassengersmadeittoshore. Animpairedoperationofavesselinvestigationisunderway as police believe alcohol was a factor. After CPR was per- formedonthemanhewasrushedtoInuvikhospitalwhere he was pronounced dead. The circumstances which led to the capsizing of the vessel are still under investigation. The vessel has been removed from the channel. Fort Chipewyan Wildfire Season 2015 OPEN HOUSE September 17 2015 500PM - 800PM Mamawi Community Hall Fort McMurray Wildfire Management Area Fort Chipewyan LEARN MORE ABOUT 2015 Area Wildfires Current Plans for Wildfire Protection Homeowner Tips For more information contact Robyn Haugen Wildfire Information Officer at 780 743-7265 A STIHL MS170 CHAINSAW ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN BY CRAIG GILBERT We are the only Peoples in the country who have no right of privacy the letter from Onion Lake Cree Nation to the United Nations reads. The federal government re- moved it with the passage of this legislation. Okimaw Wallace Fox was referring to the First Na- tions Financial Transpar- ency Act in his letter dated Aug. 25 six days before the Sept. 1 deadline the depart- ment of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development set for bands to publish their nancials online. Minister Bernard Valcourt vowed to take action against noncompliant First Nations in a written statement last week. The legislation allows him to withhold funding as a penalty which according to the ministry includes fund- ing moneys payable as a grant or contribution such as the approach being taken by the state against Indigenous Peoples. On Sept. 14 there were 148 First Nations across Canada that hadnt filed their au- dited nancials online as the FNFTA requires 12 in the Northwest Territories. Onion Lake Cree Nation has more than 5500 mem- bers and includes territory in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus said on Sept. 10 the federal government has no right to force First Nations to open their books to the world. A day after speaking to the Journal the Dene Na- tion announced it supports Onion Lake in its appeal to the United Nations. Whats more Erasmus said requiring First Nations corporations including joint ventures to publish their - nancials puts them at a com- petitive disadvantage. Theactcameintoeffectlast year and 98 per cent of First Nations in Canada complied. It circumvents the precedent- setting Montana 1988 deci- sion in which the judge ruled thatpaymentstoFirstNations are not to be considered tax- payer dollars. Erasmus said hes con- cerned about the term non- essential services or fund- ing which the government is using to describe the cash being withheld from non- compliant First Nations. This is the rst time weve heard that language I dont knowwhatthatmeansEras- mus said. Theyve arbitrarily decided what is essential and what is not. He said constitutionally speaking the treaty relation- ship between First Nations andthecrownisgovernment- to-governmentequatingFirst Nations funding to provincial transfer payments. We need the Auditor Gen- eral to look at the whole re- lationship and give advice on how to go about this and we need international monitoring so Canada is held accountable. A judge is expected to rule on a legal challenge to the FNFTA by the end of the month. The challenge asks for a ruling on whether the legislation is even legiti- mate in the context of the Montana decision and for an injunction to keep the non-essential funding esti- mated by Fox to be as much as 2 billion owing in the meantime. NWT First Nations push back against illegal transparency act AboriginalBusinessDevelop- ment Program Community Economic Opportunities Program and Acquisition and Construction of Infra- structure Assets related to recreation. Foxs letter was an emer- gency action led with the Committee on the Elimina- tion of Racial Discrimination CERD expressing concern about the situation in Can- ada in relation to this legis- lation and the heavy handed The money were talking about are not public funds theyre called Indian mon- eys and theyre appropriated by the Treasury Board and earmarked for First Nations communities Erasmus said. They have no jurisdiction to develop legislation in regard to Indian moneys. If they did they have to do it in conjunc- tion with First Nations and they didnt. Thats why peo- ple are saying this legislation really is illegal. PhotoJoshLong Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus speaks at a Keystone pipeline protest in 2011. We are the only Peoples in the country who have no right of privacy. The federal government removed it with this legislation. Okimaw Wallace Fox Onion Lake Cree Nation