By Johnny Hawk
As a Band Member we are Beneficiaries of the Indian Trust Fund where Funds are given by Canada to Band Council and their Administration to administer. A Band Council and their Administration are Trustee’s to this Trust. The Indian Monies of a Band are a Trust.
A Trustee has the duty to provide information to beneficiaries arising from the trustee’s fiduciary obligation to account to the beneficiary of the trust property. Each Province has a Trust Act that state this obligation. As Trustees they organize Band Meetings to give such information to Beneficiaries.
Your right to attend a Band Meeting is protected by the freedom of peaceful assembly under Section 2(c) of the [Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]which protects your right to gather physically with others in a peaceful manner, such as for protests, demonstrations, parades, and general meetings. This right includes the freedom to participate in peaceful assemblies in public spaces, though it is not absolute and can be subject to reasonable limits imposed by law if the government has a compelling reason to do so.
A Band Member further has a Charter Protected and Affirmed Right to attend a Band Meeting through the Right of Freedom of Expression. Freedom of expression, a fundamental freedom under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, is the right to express beliefs, thoughts, ideas, and emotions; to share information; and to seek and receive information and ideas without restriction.
In 2011 The Supreme Court of Canada in Canada (Information Commissioner) v. Canada (Minister of Defence) states Access to government information is vital to a vibrant democracy. It enables Canadians to participate in civic activities in an informed way. It also ensures transparency and accountability across government institutions.
The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed a fundamental, implied right to access government information, stating it is essential for citizens to participate in democracy and hold government accountable. This right underpins the [Canadian Access to Information and is a critical component of a transparent and responsive government. Access to such information enables the public to form informed opinions, participate in public discourse, and ensure that public institutions operate in the public interest.
The United Nations, Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms:
Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others:
To know, seek, obtain, receive and hold information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including having access to information as to how those rights and freedoms are given effect in domestic legislative, judicial or administrative systems;
As provided for in human rights and other applicable international instruments, freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms;
To study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters.
A Band Council and or its Administration’s refusal to allow a Band Member to attend a Community Meeting is denial of an individuals right to freedom of assembly and right to freedom of expression based on the grounds of discrimination of the individuals race, ancestry, ethnic origin.
A Band Council and its Administration is using their authority through the Indian Act which is a racially discriminative enactment that governs all aspects of Indigenous Peoples. Based on their race and ancestry and ethnic origin. Such Elected Councils of a Band and its Administration are using their status and position through the Indian Act to deny the individuals right to assembly and freedom of expression to attend a Meeting where the Individual is a beneficiary and has a right to attend such meeting for information that involves their trust.
This individual needs to take this Band and Police Service and file a complaint with Canada’s Human Rights Tribunal.
