Senate Committee — SECD — Brief — mohawkcouncilofkahnawake_brief_e

SECD / Brief / mohawkcouncilofkahnawake_brief_e

Senate Committees

August 17, 2023 SENT VIA MAIL AND EMAIL Ericka Dupont secd@sen.parl.gc.ca Clerk of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs The Senate of Canada Ottawa, Ontario Canada, K1A 0A4 Dear Chairman Dean and Members of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs, The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) writes you concerning Bill C-21,

An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms) . The MCK is pleased to see that some of the concerns raised in our previous submissions (see attached) were addressed by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. Unfortunately, these revisions fall short of the mark of offering meaningful protection of Indigenous rights. First, we bring your attention to non-derogation clause set out at s. 72.1 of the bill.

That clause takes up the all-too familiar formulation requiring laws to be construed as upholding the rights of Indigenous peoples recognized and affirmed by s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Apparently, it bears repeating that s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 applies of its own force and effect . As such, this non-derogation clause is – at best – a reminder of well-established constitutional limits; it does not provide any substantive legal benefit to Indigenous communities.

Second, by omitting any meaningful carveout for Indigenous rights and rights holders, Bill C -21 fails to provide substantive safeguards for rights which Canada acknowledges a s minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well -being of Indigenous Peoples , namely those identified in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.1 1 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, S.C. 2021, c. 14,

preamble par. 2.

Among these rights is our inherent right to self-governance, exercised through our own distinct legal institutions.2 Simply put, it is for the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke, not for Canada, to decide how to keep our community safe, including determining what weapons we will and will not allow our people to carry. There is no carve-out in Bill C-21 for the exercise of this inherent jurisdiction. Nor is there any recognition that exercising hunting and harvesting rights is essential to the continued development of our culture and the well-being of our people.

By harvesting in our traditional territory, we Kahnawa’kehró:non tend to our relationship and responsibilities to the web of all creatures and the ancestors who passed on a way of life to us. Teachings about environmental philosophy, terminology, harvesting and processing techniques are passed down through fishing and hunting activities. These activities are themselves intimately tied to the survival of our language, which comes alive through use on the land.

Bill C-21 provides no additional protection for these important rights, all of which nourish our distinct relationship with our traditional lands.3 Instead, the bill simply lumps Indigenous rights-holders in with all other firearm carriers. The “subsistence” exceptions, set out in the Criminal Code4 and Firearms Act,5 and the consideration of hunting rights as a “factor” in ex parte hearings suggested by the Canadian Bar Association,6 are woefully inadequate to safeguard our rights . Our rights are not a mere “factor” to be balanced against other contextual facts .

T hey are vital to our people and must be accommodated and respected. In our view, with the current draft of this bill, Canada is missing a crucial opportunity to set out substantive provisions affirming the rights of Indigenous Peoples and our unique relationship to the land and creatures upon it. In closing, the MCK urges the Standing Committee to propose amendments that explicitly acknowledge the decision-making powers of Indigenous Peoples and the importance harvesting activities have for us.

We trust that you will give due consideration to these concerns and requ est an opportunity to make submissions before the Standing Committee when it considers Bill C-21 this fall. In Peace and Friendship, Assistant Grand Chief Tonya Perron Mohawk Council of Kahnawake 2 See, notably, articles 3, 4, 5, and 20 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Canada has committed to “take all measures necessary to ensure that the laws of Canada are consistent with the Declaration”, see United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, S.C. 2021, c. 14, s. 5. 3

Article 25 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 4 See Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46 s. 113(1)(a). 5 See Firearms Act, S.C. 1995, c. 39 sections 7(4)(

b) and 8(2). 6 Canadian Bar Association to Ron McKinnon, October 31, 2022, p. 4; online: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/SECU/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=11814165.

January 19, 2023 Ron McKinnon, M.P. Chair, Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security Sixth Floor, 131 Queen St. House of Commons Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Minister Marco Mendocino Public Safety Canada 269 Laurier Ave. West Ottawa, ON K1A 0P8 Wa’tkwanonhwerá:ton, The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) writes to you concerning Bill C-21,

An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms) . The bill, and its proposed amendments, will have significant and unacceptable impacts on our people. The bill ignores our governance rights, imposes unjustifiable limitations on firearms essential to exercising our hunting rights, will place unfair burdens on the shoulders of the Peacekeepers who safeguard our territory and will increase the potential for discriminatory and over -policing of our people off-territory.

We outline these concerns below and demand that the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security reopen its hearings and receive the MCK as a witness. The Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawks) have inherent and Aboriginal rights and title over and in our traditional lands and waters, including the Kaniatarowanenne (St-Lawrence River). The Kaniatarowanenne valley and its surroundings have always been key hunting, fishing, gathering, and trading ground s for us.

Today, we exercise these rights on our traditional lands and waters, throughout the Sault-St-Louis Seigneury lands, in Kahnawà:ke proper, and at Tiowerò:ton – a hunting territory in the Laurentian mountains shared with the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnesatá:ke. The Two Row Wampum, one of the most important diplomatic instruments in our shared history, affirms the parallel jurisdictions of the Kanien’kehá:ka and settler governments and aims to facilitate our peaceful coexistence. The Two Row Wampum belt consists of two rows of purple beads separated by three rows of white beads.

The white beads symbolize the river of life or the land that we all now share. The two purple rows symbolize the Haudenosaunee and Europeans traveling side by side, living in peaceful coexistence and never interfering with each other’s path. In accordance with this treaty relationship, Kanien’kehá:ka jurisdiction over our lands and waters continues to apply independently and in parallel to that of the Crown.

It is for the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke, not for Canada, to decide how to keep our community safe, including determining what weapons we will and will not allow our people to carry . Over the years, we have exercised this inherent jurisdiction by, among others: • enacting a Weapon Control Law; • entrusting enforcement to the Kahnawà:ke Peacekeepers; • providing culturally appropriate firearm safety education for youth and adults; • designing our own firearms registry; and • exploring buy-backs for firearms we would like to see removed from our community.

There is no carve-out in Bill C-21 for the exercise of this inherent jurisdiction, nor was any consultation carried out to solicit our input. We are extremely distressed by the impacts Bill C-21 will inevitably have on our people and hunting rights. The list of newly prohibited firearms set out in amendment G -46 criminalizes a broad gamut of hunting rifles, shotguns and other “long guns” used by our hunters. Moreover, the list’s proposed “evergreen

definitions” would curtail our ability to access new developments in firearms, effectively freezing our rights in time. We acknowledge the important safety considerations Parliament seeks to advance with Bill C-21. However, these cannot come at the expense of r especting our inherent, human and constitution al rights.1 The “subsistence” exceptions, set out in the Criminal Code2 and Firearms Act,3 and the consideration of hunting rights as a “factor” i n ex parte hearings suggested by the Canadian Bar Association ,4 are woefully inadequate to safeguard against infringement of our rights.

Our rights are not a mere “factor” to be balanced against other contextual facts; they are vital to our people and must be accommodated and respected. In addition, although we assert and exercise our right to govern firearms and other weapons, some community members choose to comply with provincial or federal licensing and registration requirements. For many this simply provides peace of mind when transporting a hunti ng weapon from a home in Kahnawà:ke to a hunting cabin in Tiowerò:ton.

Given the extreme overreach of the proposed amendments, many of these licensed firearms owners could face the choice between criminalization and exercising their inherent rights. This choice comes with unacceptable consequences for both individuals and our community. Traditionally, more than 50% of our dietary intake was based on wild foods. Today, a substantial number of Kahnawa’kehró:non continue to hunt wild game for sustenance and subsistence. For all Kahnawa’kehró:non, hunting is an exercise of our inherent rights and connection to the land.

Exercising our hunting rights is essential to the continued development of our culture and the well-being of our people. By harvesting in our traditional territory, we Kahnawa’kehró:non tend to our relationship with, and responsibilities to, the web of all creatures and to the ancestors who passed on a way of life to us. 1 See, notably, sections 5, 18, 20, 25, 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Canada has committed to “take all measures necessary to ensure that the laws of Canada are consistent with the Declaration”, see United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, S.C. 2021, c. 14, s. 5. 2 See Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46 s. 113(1)(a). 3 See Firearms Act, S.C. 1995, c. 39 sections 7(4)(

b) and 8(2). 4 Canadian Bar Association to Ron McKinnon, October 31, 2022, p. 4; online: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/SECU/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=11814165.

Teachings about environmental terminology, harvesting and processing techniques, and ways of relating to the environment are passed down through fishing and hunting activities. Indeed, o ur language itself comes alive through activities on the land and water. The structure of our language (Kanien’kéha) carries the basis of our culture, including its matrilineal organization, our connections to cycles and seasons, and our relationship with others and the environment.

Sharing is an important cultural value that depends on sufficient quantities of high-quality traditional foods to sustain us and our social relationships. If we are limited in our ability to harvest because we do not have the tools, we lose essential opportunities to pass on core values and ways of living to our youth. Diminishing these opportunities has severe emotional and psychological impacts on us as Indigenous Peoples. These impacts are compounded by discriminatory over-policing of our people in their interactions with outside law enforcement.

Our cultural, historical and geographical reality gives rise to concerns unique to Kahnawà:ke that must be aired and addressed. That being said, we add our voices to the concerns voiced by the Indigenous witnesses already heard by the Standing Committee.5 We also second the Canadian Bar Association’s6 submissions regarding the clear potential for fraudulent complaints and discriminatory application of the proposed “red flag” and “yellow flag” provisions. Finally, the MCK is alarmed at the administrative burden that these changes will put on our Peacekeepers.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has already urged y ou not to saddle local forces with administering a buy-back. These concerns are amplified in Kahnawà:ke as our Peacekeepers face chronic underfunding, understaffing and intransigence regarding our proposals for culturally appropriate firearm control and usage. In closing, we look forward to your due consideration of this outline of our concerns. As currently drafted, Bill C-21 and its amendments will have unacceptable, unjustifiable impacts on our rights.

Consequently, we demand that the Standing Committee reopen its hearings, receive the MCK as a witness and amend this legislation to address our concerns. In Peace and Friendship, ON BEHALF OF THE OFFICE OF THE COUNCIL OF CHIEFS MOHAWK COUNCIL OF KAHNAWÀ:KE ________________________________ Grand Chief Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer 5 See, generally: Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, Meeting No. 045, November 3 , 2022. 6 Canadian Bar Association to Ron McKinnon, October 31, 2022, p. 2 and 3; online: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/SECU/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=11814165.

Document details

Collection	Senate Committees
Citation	SECD / Brief / mohawkcouncilofkahnawake_brief_e
Type	committee
Volume / chapter	441 / Brief / mohawkcouncilofkahnawake_brief_e
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	COMM_SEN
Identifier	c3b2c57df64f3720960387e56ce743907f390ae0

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