Rally for Algonquin Chief Jailed for Asserting Land Rights: Elizabeth May, NDP, Major Unions, Chiefs Call on Canadian government
Ottawa, January 7, 2009- - A broad network of political parties, unions, human rights and Indigenous groups rallied today to support the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, demanding that the Government of Canada respect a landmark agreement and Barriere Lake's right to decide who serves as their Customary Chief and Council.
The groups held a rally on January 7 at noon in front of the Headquarters of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, in support of Customary Chief Benjamin Nottaway, jailed for two months for joining community members while they peacefully asserted land rights to Barriere Lake's traditional territories in Western Quebec. Community spokespeople will then travel to Montreal for a demonstration on Thursday in front of Premier Jean Charest's office.
"The Algonquin of Barriere Lake have shown extraordinary patience in the face of governmental interference and foot-dragging," said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party. "It is a scandal that Chief Nottaway spent Christmas in jail for peaceful civil disobedience to demand governments live up to their responsibilities, with barely a murmur of notice from the media and with stony silence from our government."
Barriere Lake wants Canada to uphold signed agreements, dating back to the 1991 Trilateral Agreement, a groundbreaking sustainable development and resource co-management agreement praised by the United Nations and the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Canada pulled out of the binding agreement in 2001.
