I welcome this opportunity to share Canada's views on the agenda item "Indigenous peoples and their right to development, including their right to participate in development affecting them" - an issue that Canada takes very seriously and for which we are developing concrete means of implementation.

Canada welcomes an agenda item that promotes positive, beneficial links between indigenous peoples and development. Efforts that further these links are laudable and desirable. As part of the world community, we endorse and support the shared objective of ensuring indigenous peoples are able to participate in development that directly affects them. The efforts of this and other Working Groups towards this objective are to be commended.

Many of us are aware that our colleagues are involved in a Working Group of the Commission working expressly on the question of the right to development. I will not speculate on the conclusions they might reach nor will I pre-empt forthcoming statements or resolutions. However, I would like to affirm that the Government of Canada recognizes that this is a sensitive, complex and difficult issue. In Canada, these issues inevitably involve a number of parties including the federal and provincial governments, Aboriginal peoples and the private sector.

Canada has unequivocally and repeatedly stated its support for the promotion and protection of the right to development as outlined in the Declaration on the Right to Development. Canada has been an active participant in the open-ended Working Group on Right to Development, and engaged in the negotiations around the resolution on the right to development at the Commission on Human Rights, as Canada feels it is important that the issue be advanced in a coherent and balanced manner.

Canada believes that the right to development acts as a bridge between the two sets of rights as traditionally set out in international discourse:

• civil and political on the one hand; and
• economic, social and cultural on the other.

Benefits from economic, social and cultural development are unlikely to be achieved if issues of civil and political rights, such as those of equal participation in decision-making, freedom of association and freedom of expression, are not respected. Similarly, there can be no respect for the full scope of civil and political rights, if, for example, questions relating to an adequate standard of living, including food and housing, are not addressed.

As articulated in the Declaration on the Right to Development, there are two basic principles that are relevant to our discussions. First, that the human person is the central subject of development and should be the active participant and beneficiary of the right to development (Article 2, paragraph 1). Second, that States have the primary responsibility for the creation of national and international conditions favourable to the realization of the right to development (Article 3, paragraph 1). These two paragraphs are particularly relevant to the question of the role and responsibility of the state in instituting measures to overcome obstacles to the implementation of the right to development.

Canada promotes the right to development, at home and in multilateral fora, because Canadians believe in the importance of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, gender equality, a dynamic civil society and the ongoing fight against corruption. These are inextricably linked to the development of all peoples.

Canada has thus long been committed to processes and initiatives that facilitate and increase participation by Aboriginal persons with regard to development. This is not new. We are not strangers to this process. The challenge of how to best ensure that development occurs in a manner that maximizes benefits to those directly impacted is something we have grappled with for over thirty years. Allow me to provide you with some concrete examples.

The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, between the Government of Canada, the Province of Quebec, three major Crown Corporations, the Northern Quebec Inuit Association - representing fourteen communities - and the Grand Council of the Crees - representing eight bands - was an unprecedented, far-reaching agreement when it was signed in 1977.

Similarly, in the Northwest Territories, the Mackenzie Valley gas and oil deposits - and the potential for the economic boom of a pipeline - are again making headlines, 25 years after the initial flurry of planning. In the early 1970s, in the midst of a sharp rise in the price of oil, attention was focused on the Mackenzie Valley. Numerous proponents lobbied for a pipeline to deliver northern oil to southern consumers. Aboriginal peoples were unanimously opposed. It was their experience that developments of this nature did not benefit them. They felt the benefits would flow south, along with the with the oil and have a hugely negative impact on their lifestyle and the environment itself. The Berger report eloquently documented these concerns.

It is a different story now. Consider the potential of the north, which comprises 40 percent of Canada's land mass. Aboriginal people are becoming involved in all phases of development. First of all, they are becoming significant land owners as comprehensive land Claims are settled. Since 1993, as a result of a land claim settlement between the Government of Canada and the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut, the Inuit control more than 350,000 square kilometres of land, of which 36,000 square kilometres include mineral rights. In the western Arctic, the Inuvialuit were recently able to collect $75 million in cash for exploration rights on their land that were issued to oil and gas exploration companies.

The Speech from the Throne in January 2001, which lays out the Government of Canada's agenda, highlights commitments to the Aboriginal peoples of Canada and makes compelling evidence of our resolve to make national and international conditions conducive for development. It put Aboriginal issues front and centre as priorities to be addressed in many areas. For example, it said that:

Let me draw your attention to materials at the back of the room on Aboriginal entrepreneurs across Canada. These materials were originally distributed in newspapers across Canada to profile these entrepreneurs and make all Canadians more aware of the economic successes and potential of the Aboriginal community.

The Canadian government has pledged to strengthen First Nations governance, including implementing more effective and transparent administrative practices. This necessary step goes a long ways to ensuring basic needs for indigenous peoples are met. What are those needs? They are like those of all other members of our society: jobs, health care, education, housing and supporting infrastructure.

To be clear, what this means is that the Government of Canada has recommitted itself to providing Aboriginal people and northerners, many of whom are Aboriginal, with the tools, resources, powers and authorities to participate in the development process, to protect and advance their interests and to obtain benefit from these developments.

These modalities include regulatory processes that ensure Aboriginal participation in some decision-making boards and environmental assessment processes. They include comprehensive land claim agreements, which provide for land, financial resources and agreed access to natural resources. They include self-government arrangements which can include natural resources management and other jurisdictional areas. They involve policy frameworks which address issues in integrated ways, notably Canada's approach to sustainable development and the further implementation of Gathering Strength: Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan. They include providing opportunities for Aboriginal participation with federal-provincial-territorial ministers as well as participation in international fora.

I would like to outline some examples now.

Canada and some other countries worked hard to establish the Arctic Council, with indigenous organizations as permanent participants. Most recently, Canada has fully supported the applications of the Gwich'in International Council and the Arctic Athabaskan Council to the Arctic Council.

Canada's approach to federal-provincial relations addresses the challenge of providing tools for Aboriginal participation. As mentioned in our earlier statement, at the most recent meeting of federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for Aboriginal affairs and the leaders of the five national Aboriginal organizations, a report, Strengthening Aboriginal Participation in the Economy was endorsed. It deals with the challenges and barriers to Aboriginal involvement in the economy as well as the opportunities for federal, provincial and territorial governments, Aboriginal communities, institutions and governments, and the need for private sector involvement. Another outcome is a conference on Aboriginal youth this fall.

Working closely with provincial governments and authorities, the Federal Interlocutor's support is assisting a number of Métis, non-status Indian and pan-Aboriginal service delivery institutions in British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan make significant strides in providing child and family services and cultural development to their constituents.

Regional partnering strategies are being developed, involving federal and provincial governments, private sector companies, apprenticeship and training authorities, Aboriginal organizations and communities. These partnering approaches are dealing with oil sands and forestry sectors in Alberta and Saskatchewan, respectively, and other sectors in British Columbia and Manitoba.

Most resource development requires environmental assessments and regulatory approvals. Because of land claim settlement agreements, indigenous peoples are guaranteed a significant role in these approvals by their participation on environmental assessment and regulatory boards. These are institutions of public government - not Aboriginal-specific bodies.

When development does actually occur - whether it be diamond mines or natural gas fields and pipelines - there are processes designed to ensure that local people and communities share in the opportunities to derive economic benefits. Resource developers recognize that they have to work with local communities. Provisions in Land Claims Settlement Agreements, which are constitutionally protected, require early and full consultations and that benefit plans for local communities are in place before development goes ahead.

Other long-standing federal legislation provides for benefit plans. For example, under the Canadian Oil and Gas Operators Act, which applies to all frontier lands in the North, oil and gas operators must submit a benefit plan for approval by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development prior to obtaining authorizations from the National Energy Board. These benefit plans are prepared in consultation with local communities, most of whom have predominantly Aboriginal populations.

As stated before, the negotiation and settlement of land claims is an important component to supporting development and the right to participate in developments. The process itself speaks to our willingness as a society to reconcile historical and cultural differences through negotiation and compromise. The agreements that result give Aboriginal people a greater say in their future, and facilitate economic development for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in the area by removing uncertainty regarding title to lands and resources.

In Labrador, for example, we saw the signing of an Agreement-in-Principle between the Labrador Inuit, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Government of Canada at the end of June. Under a Final Agreement, 15,800 square kilometres will fall under the management and control of an Inuit Central Government. Within a larger settlement area of 72,500 square kilometres, Inuit will have certain protected rights and a say in the conservation and management of renewable resources, along with the provincial and federal governments, through joint fishing and wildlife management boards. A requirement for impacts and benefits agreements to be negotiated with the Inuit Government will also ensure that the Inuit have a say in large-scale developments in the settlement area.

We recognize that different types of arrangements are necessary to best meet the needs of different groups. In late May, the Government of Canada signed both a Framework Agreement and an Interim Measures Agreement with the Deh Cho First Nations and the Government of the Northwest Territories. Given the significance of the Deh Cho region in terms of resource potential, and the concern for protecting the ecological integrity of the region, the Interim Measures Agreement helps to clarify the "rules of the game" for affected stakeholders like industry, in the interim period until a final agreement is achieved. The Deh Cho Interim Measures Agreement provides for significant Deh Cho First Nations' participation in land, water and resource management within the Deh Cho Region, through participation on the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board and the creation of a Deh Cho panel of the Mackenzie Valley Land & Water Board.

A final initiative of critical importance to positive, real advancement and development is the First Nations governance initiative. The Government of Canada recently launched country-wide consultations with First Nations on a new statutory and regulatory framework for First Nations governance. The Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development said then:

In conclusion, while considerable work remains to be done to ensure Aboriginal peoples are fully included in all aspects of Canadian life, we are on the right track and making measurable progress. Each step forward moves us closer to our goal of participation by indigenous peoples in Canada in developments affecting them and promoting positive, beneficial links between indigenous peoples and development.

Thank you.

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