TORONTO - The federal government is in a conflict of interest when it comes to settling aboriginal land claims and must create an independent body to clear the backlog of some 800 claims across the country, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday.
Frustration is growing across the country with a lack of action and something has to be done to deal with outstanding claims that have led to standoffs like the year-long occupation in Caledonia, Ont., he said.
"We need an accelerated process," McGuinty said Tuesday, adding Ottawa should create an independent body with the power to both study and settle the claims.
"Right now the federal government finds itself in an untenable position - it has to decide whether or not it's going to give up some of its own land. I think that puts them in a very difficult position."
The idea of an independent body isn't new, McGuinty said, adding it's supported by Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine and federal Liberal Leader Stephane Dion.
"There is a lot of frustration experienced, not just here in Ontario, but by Canadians generally," said McGuinty, adding the province is caught in the middle of such longstanding disputes.
"Some days I feel like I should be issuing blue helmets to the (provincial police). They are continuing to work as actively as they can as peacekeepers."
Bill Rodgers, director of communications for Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice, dismissed the suggestion as a "fishing expedition by the premier's office" in an e-mail.
Prentice said almost a year ago that he planned a major "retooling" of the claims process after the number of claims ballooned from 200 in 1993 to more than 750 last year. The average wait time for a settlement is up to nine years while some say complicated cases can take up to 20 years from start to finish.
Frustration over the slow land claims process boiled over in the southern Ontario town of Caledonia in February 2006 when protesters occupied a housing development site they say was illegally taken from them 200 years ago.
The Six Nations protesters remain on the disputed site to this day and have been negotiating their land claim with the federal government and the province for the last year.
Last month, a splinter group of Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte paralyzed freight and passenger rail traffic with a blockade between Toronto and Montreal to protest the use of disputed land near Deseronto, Ont.
