TORONTO - The province hasn't implemented one of the key recommendations of the Ipperwash report that called for an independent commission to help settle outstanding aboriginal land claims because Ottawa hasn't yet come to the table, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant said Tuesday.
The creation of a Treaty Commission of Ontario to improve the land-claims process was among the recommendations of a public inquiry into the 1995 police shooting death of aboriginal protester Dudley George at Ipperwash Provincial Park.
But Ottawa must be involved in establishing the commission because most of the land claims are against the federal government, Bryant said.
"It is right now something that First Nations and the government of Ontario are working on,'' he said.
"But we're missing a partner, who we have not yet given up on, which is the federal government.''
Bryant, who vowed to implement all the recommendations of the inquiry, said he's confident an agreement can still be forged between First Nations and the provincial and federal governments to establish a "meaningful treaty process.''
His federal counterpart, Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl, has been "very open'' to the idea, which is still under discussion, he said.
The Conservative government, which is set to deliver a formal apology Wednesday to victims of residential school abuse, has already reached agreements with other provinces like British Columbia, Bryant said.
The Ontario Liberals have repeatedly called on the federal government to speed up the resolution of aboriginal land claims, which have sparked occupations, blockades and protests throughout the province.
Last month, Bryant raised the ire of the federal Conservatives when he suggested they were dragging their heels in resolving a dispute in the southwestern Ontario town of Caledonia, where Six Nations protesters have occupied a housing project for more than two years.
In other parts of the province, aboriginal demonstrators have been jailed for defying court orders to stop blocking mining exploration on traditional lands.
Such confrontations could have been avoided if the province had consulted with aboriginal groups before allowing companies on disputed territory, Amnesty International Canada said Tuesday.
"The province has delegated its responsibility of consultation to corporations, failed to stop potentially harmful projects going ahead while the underlying rights disputes are unresolved, and relied on the power of the justice system to prevent and punish the resulting protests,'' the human rights group said in a letter to Bryant.
"This is utterly at odds with the Ipperwash inquiry's overall thrust that the province must commit itself to addressing indigenous land rights in a spirit of justice and reconciliation rather than coercion.''
The Ipperwash report recommended the province work with Ottawa to create the treaty commission, but it also urged the province to "proceed on its own'' if that wasn't possible.
There's still no treaty commission because the Liberals aren't serious about resolving land claims, said NDP Leader Howard Hampton.
The commission would move those claims forward, which the government is trying to avoid, he said.
"That's what the McGuinty government's engaged in here, the old and cynical game of Ping-Pong, saying, `Oh, it's a federal responsibility,''' Hampton said.
