Statement made on 07 October 2009 by Senator Nick Sibbeston
Hon. Nick G. Sibbeston:
Honourable senators, in the last few decades our country has been marred by incidents — for example, Oka, Ipperwash and Caledonia — that resulted from Aboriginal people being frustrated by the federal government's inaction on their claims to resolve long-standing land issues.
To the government's credit, and to Mr. Prentice in particular, in 2008, the government passed the Specific Claims Tribunal Act that was to address these issues by establishing an independent tribunal. The act came into force October 16 last year and no appointments have been made to the tribunal thus far.
Will the Leader of the Government explain why there has been a delay in making these appointments and inform us when these appointments will be made so this tribunal can carry out its important work?
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