Commentaire 158 – commentaires et rétroaction

Dan Morriseau

Greetings,

Please find attached a submission from Grand Council Treaty #3 to the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission regarding the proposed changes of boundaries and its effects on the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3.

We wish you all the best in your upcoming public consultations and look forward to reviewing your findings.

Miigwetch!

Dan Morriseau

Political Advisor

Grand Council Treaty #3

PO Box XXXX, Kenora, ON xxx xxx

Phone: (xxx) xxx-xxxx

Website: www.gct3.ca

Grand Council Treaty #3 Submission on Proposed Federal Electoral Boundary Changes

About Grand Council Treaty #3

Grand Council Treaty #3 is the traditional government of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3. The overall goal of Grand Council is the protection, preservation and enhancement of Treaty and Aboriginal rights. Grand Council Treaty #3 is 55,000 sq. miles spanning from west of Thunder Bay to north of Sioux Lookout, along the international border, to the province of Manitoba. It is made up of 28 First Nation communities, with a total population of approximately 25,000.

The Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3 as represented by Grand Council Treaty #3 is aware of and has conducted an introductory examination of the proposed redistribution of constituency boundaries in the Treaty #3 Territory as recommended by the Federal Electoral Boundary Commission. Upon this very primary examination several immediate issues are brought to mind. The following is a brief overview of the three immediate issues that arise from the proposed changes to the boundaries from the viewpoint of Grand Council Treaty #3.

The Ongoing Division of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3 in its Treaty Territory

At first glance it is evident that the proposed boundary redistribution will keep the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3 separated between two ridings. Whereas the existing split between the Kenora and Thunder Bay – Rainy River ridings roughly follows existing tribal council lines that separate the northern and southern halves of Treaty #3, the proposed redistribution boundary will split the northern half in a way that will see communities that regularly work very closely together being represented by separate Members of Parliament.

Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, Waubaskang First Nation, and Grassy Narrows First Nation in particular, despite being centred economically and administratively with Kenora, will be in the proposed Kiiwetinoong – Mushkegowuk riding, separated from their very close neighbours of Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation, Washagamis Bay First Nation, Wauzhushk Onigum Nation, and others. Furthermore, it is of note that the northern boundary of Niisaachewan itself forms the boundary between the two ridings, placing it right on the boundary and making it a potential issue for traditional territory that may extend beyond the reserve boundary – a fact which at the very least should have been discussed with Niisaachewan prior to proposal.

Further east in the proposed Kiiwetinoong – Mushkegowuk riding will be the Treaty #3 communities of Lac Seul First Nation and Saugeen Ojibway Nation that are separated from their close neighbours of Migisi Sahgaigan and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation. Both of these communities are centred economically and administratively on Sioux Lookout, which is also to be located in the new Kiiwetinoong – Mushkegowuk riding and thus their inclusion would prove to be less of an issue than those communities further west that would be separated from Kenora.

The Travel Distance Issue

Currently, both the Kenora and Thunder Bay – Rainy River ridings suffer from extreme distances that their representatives have to cover. The layout of the Kenora riding by its very nature requires coverage of dozens of fly-in communities. Though this is a significant issue to overcome for the current Kenora MP, these fly-in communities are all accessible via the Sioux Lookout hub. The proposed Kiiwetinoong – Mushkegowuk riding would double this challenge by adding in the eastern half of Northern Ontario meaning the MP would have to fly to communities centered on both the Sioux Lookout hub in the Northwest and the Timmins hub in the Northeast. Not only the cost, but the stress on the representative's travel schedule would be enormous.

Similarly, currently the Thunder Bay – Rainy River MP requires a drive of 500km to reach the community of the Anishinaabeg of Naongashing on the western end of the riding from Thunder Bay. This leads to a very Thunder Bay focused riding as the population in the western two thirds of the riding is very small in the comparison to the population in Thunder Bay proper. The addition of both the Kenora and Dryden areas into this riding would result in an even greater challenge, even if it made the riding slightly less Thunder Bay centric. For example, assuming the MP begins in Thunder Bay, in order to reach the main centres of Fort Frances, Kenora, and Dryden in the west of the riding in a single trip, the distance by road would exceed 1,000km.

Cultural Distinction in the Far North

While it is clear that a large part of the impetus for the creation of a northern Ontario riding is to increase northern representation in Parliament, this is based on the assumption that all "Northern" issues are roughly similar. On the contrary, the proposed riding will encompass at least three distinct languages, Ojibwe, Oji-Cree, and Cree. While it is true that the riding may benefit from having more local representation, the cultural and linguistic differences in the riding itself will limit the benefits from having representation from the communities. While a language speaker may know the customs and traditions of their own community, it cannot be assumed that this will equate to better representation of the other two thirds of the enormous new northern riding.

Although the proposed Kenora – Thunder Bay – Rainy River riding would consist of exclusively Anishinaabe communities, the proposed Kiiwetinoong – Mushkegowuk riding would be represented by a single representative covering Wabasemoong, which is nearly on the Manitoba border, Moose Cree First Nation on the southern end of James Bay, and Fort Severn First Nation which is the most northerly community in Ontario. This is a vast territory that contains different languages, dialects, traditions, customs, and political organizations. While the Kiiwetinoong – Mushkegowuk riding is meant to provide a uniquely Northern Ontario voice, it will ultimately be one that is even more diverse and difficult to reach effectively than the currently existing Kenora and Timmins – James Bay ridings are now.

Recommendations

Grand Council Treaty #3 recommends that the Federal Electoral Boundary Commission engage directly with all First Nations in the Treaty #3 Territory. Much of the Treaty #3 leadership feels as though they were not adequately consulted, or worse were not aware any such changes were even proposed. While the objective of providing more Northern Ontario representation is understandable, it should not be achieved at the expense of disarticulating the currently existing socio-economic-political relationships around which the First Nations in the region build their lives.