The Specific Claims Resolution bill and the First Nations Fiscal and Statistical Management bill may become law within the next two weeks. The urgent challenge for First Nations is to convince the Hon. Paul Martin that he should act now to prevent the bills from becoming law and otherwise inheriting a mess of court challenges, poor relations with First Nations and political pressure when he becomes Prime Minister.

There are many signs, although no official confirmation, that Parliament will either adjourn or prorogue on Nov. 7.  Some observers expect it will end on Oct. 31.  The Government has many priority bills not yet passed into law. It is not clear how high C-19 and C-6 are on that priority list.

C-19 is at report stage in the House of Commons. The Government has placed it on the agenda for debate most days over the last week but it is usually has been 4th or 5th in line. That means it was never debated because time ran out as debate on other bills continued.  However, as other bills pass the House, C-19 creeps up closer to the top of the debate list.   C-19 is currently the first item for debate on Oct. 29.  The opposition has introduced 54 amendments for debate.  That is considered a large number that will take much precious House time for debate.  If the bill passes the House, it must still go through many steps in the Senate.  There is still a risk that C-19 will become law unless pressure increases to stop it.

C-6 passed the Senate with a few minor amendments on Oct. 21.  It did so despite warnings from a prominent Liberal Senator that legal and constitutional challenges will ensue due to serious flaws in the bill.  The amendments have made minor improvements to the bill; however, C-6 is still significantly flawed.

The House of Commons must now consider the Senate amendments.  If they are accepted, the bill will go to the Governor General for Royal Assent.  The opposition parties have indicated to the Government that C-6 will be given a rough ride, that many speakers are lined up to debate, that amendments and motions will be introduced and, generally, that precious House debating time will be expended.  Those messages are intended to make the Government place C-6 lower than other bills on the debating schedule.  So far, C-6 has not been placed high on the House agenda, although it is making regular appearances.

The Government constantly changes the schedule of bills up for debate.  As the time crunch gets worse with every passing day, the Government is starting to try to make deals with the opposition parties to move bills more quickly.  So far, the opposition parties are holding fast on C-6 and C-19, that is, the only deals in which they are interested are those that delay debate of C-6 and C-19.

The Government often extends House and Senate sitting time late in Parliamentary sessions, the point at which Parliament is currently, to get bills passed.  The Senate usually sits on Tuesdays to Thursdays.  As of Oct 20, it is now sitting Mondays. The House has not yet extended its sitting time.

First Nations, mostly from Ontario, with assistance from a few from Alberta and Manitoba, are lobbying in Ottawa to try to prevent the passage of C-6 and C-19.  Despite the limited number of First Nation lobbyists and First Nations observers, they are having an effect.   However, additional participation in the lobby campaign, an increased First Nations presence on Parliament Hill and other forms of support is needed now.

Dan Gaspé