Saltwire Network
CORNER BROOK — Greg Janes has been waiting a long time to find out if his membership in the Qalipu First Nation will be reinstated and he is getting more frustrated as time goes on.
Janes, chief of the Burgeo Band of Indians, served in the Canadian Forces for 22 years and lost his Qalipu membership nearly two years ago because he was not living in a recognized Mi’kmaq community in the province during the times set out in the 2013 supplemental agreement that forced a reassessment of all Qalipu applicants.
The band started exploratory discussions with the federal government in November 2018 to address concerns regarding members of the Canadian Forces, veterans, RCMP members, and Federation of Newfoundland Indians (FNI) members or members of other Mi’kmaq organizations who were named in the 2008 agreement and subsequently denied founding membership.
“It’s been a very long time waiting. It’s been frustrating because the band has passed a resolution that’s in the government’s hands right now, and why they haven’t got an order in council, I don’t know.” - Greg Janes
In a news release issued earlier this month, the band said during the 18 months since the FNI and the government held regular meetings, however, the pace of the discussions has been interrupted by the 2019 federal election and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Qalipu Chief Brendan Mitchell said in the release that the FNI is frustrated with the pace of the exploratory discussions.
“Despite these challenges, the parties have made progress, but external factors are slowing our work. We know people are looking for answers and solutions, and we are working as fast as possible given the constraints before us.”
In July 2019, the FNI and Qalipu passed resolutions seeking to have the applicants who were members of the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and veterans of those forces, reassessed on the basis that they met the group acceptance criterion due to their being honourably accepted by the band as members of the Mi’kmaq Group of Indians.
Those resolutions now sit with the minister of Indigenous Services, and Mitchell said the band is waiting for a response on them. If satisfactory, the band can then begin a process that would see members of the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and veterans of those forces, reassessed.
“I look forward to the day when we can make an announcement to this effect, and I consistently express to Canada how important it is to bring this part of our discussions to a successful conclusion.”
Janes has mixed feelings about the update.
“It’s been a very long time waiting. It’s been frustrating because the band has passed a resolution that’s in the government’s hands right now, and why they haven’t got an order in council, I don’t know.”
He said the update didn’t provide any new information, but it’s the first time the band has given them any notice.
“So, I see it as, yeah, it’s good to keep us in the loop. But a statement on nothing is really nothing.”
For Janes, who has always practised the Mi’kmaq way of life no matter where in the world he has gone, getting his status back would give him recognition again.
“But what it would mean to me is to have my children reinstated as status Indians. They were born under the Qalipu banner. That’s all they know, so I think it’s unfair for them to have to lose their status because of their father’s service to his country.”
Janes has been active in fighting for the rights of those denied membership, and while he’s been less vocal of late, that will change, he said. He and others in the same boat are making plans for a protest once the pandemic dies down.
The release also states that the FNI and the federal government continue to explore possible solutions regarding FNI members or members of other Mi’kmaq organizations who were named in the 2008 agreement and denied founding membership.
Again, the pandemic has affected those discussions, which the band hopes will resume in the near future.
Twitter: WS_DianeCrocker
