Former Delta MP John Cummins during a press conference where he formally announced he wants to lead the BC Conservative Party in Vancouver March 29, 2011. (JohnJohn Lehmann/ The Globe and Mail
John Cummins, soon to be leader of the B.C. Conservative Party, says the province's natives are being overly rewarded in fishery allocations, treaty settlements and side deals that allow projects to go ahead on native-claimed land.
"There is no justification to be giving these payoffs to the band, and, essentially, to the band's chief, just to buy peace," Mr. Cummins said Wednesday, referring to financial agreements permitting such activities as mining and pipelines to proceed. "There's a whole lot of inappropriate pressure being put on by natives. They are demanding a cut before investment can go ahead.… That doesn't help anybody. It doesn't help those communities. But it does enrich a few."
With his official selection as Conservative leader set for May 28, Mr. Cummins has been stirring up controversy all month. He first got into hot water over comments on sexual orientation, then was fined $200 earlier this week for fishing illegally to protest native-only fisheries. Now, he has taken aim at other aboriginal issues.
Mr. Cummins pointed to the 2009 Tsawwassen treaty as an illustration of his belief that natives are being excessively compensated for settling land claims.
"It's hugely rich," he said. "We can't afford to replicate that around the province.… At times, we give up too much to the natives. And I don't think the treaties are making a whole lot of difference to the average guy's life.
"What makes a difference is the ability to look out for yourself, and not having to rely on the band council for handouts," said Mr. Cummins. "I just think the way things are going … is wrong, wrong, wrong. There has to be some reality."
The former, long-time MP's remarks indicate that pending leadership of a political party has not softened his previous, outspoken opposition to treaties and other native-government deals.
Former Hupacasath chief and treaty negotiator Judith Sayers said Mr. Cummins's views are "really out of line" with rules set down by the Supreme Court of Canada. They require governments and private companies to consult with native bands when proposed projects encroach on their traditional territory.
"What communities do with these [settlements]is up to them," said Ms. Sayers. "I don't know of anyone who's gotten rich off them. This is certainly no way for [Mr. Cummins]to make himself popular. Making people angry over things the Supreme Court has already decided on is not going to have much credibility."
Mr. Cummins's comments were prompted by evidence presented at the Cohen Commission this week. A former federal fisheries officer told of finding 345,000 sockeye from a native food fishery stocked in scores of industrial freezers in 2005.
Mr. Cummins, who still has a commercial fishing licence, said there is no doubt the fish were headed to the black market for illegal commercial sales.
He said he once witnessed a transaction involving native-caught salmon just north of Seattle. "A guy came out with a brown paper bag full of money. United States officers confiscated both the bag of money and the fish. But no charges were ever laid, either down there or in Canada."
"We all know this stuff is still happening, and it just goes on and on. The fisheries people have no idea what's caught, who's catching it, and what's going on. They have lost control of the fishery."