Manitoba chiefs want cellphone revenue

[bc2mb]

Manitoba chiefs want cellphone revenue
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 | 10:41 AM ET
CBC News

Manitoba First Nations are seeking compensation from Manitoba Telecom Services for every cellphone signal that passes through First Nations land, saying the airspace should be considered a resource like land and water.

'When it comes to using airspace, it's like using our water and simply because there's no precedent doesn't mean that it's not the right thing to do.'—Ovide Mercredi, Grand Rapids First Nation

At a recent economic development summit, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs resolved to negotiate revenue sharing with MTS for transmissions signals that cross the land, water and air space of their reserves and traditional territories.

"[The request is] based on the understanding that we do have some fundamental rights as indigenous people to land, water and airspace," said Chief Ovide Mercredi of the Grand Rapids First Nation.

"When it comes to using airspace, it's like using our water and simply because there's no precedent doesn't mean that it's not the right thing to do," he said.

Mercredi says that signals over a significant area of the province would be affected, noting that the Cree Nations claim rights to a large portion of the north.
Proposal may inspire more negotiations

Anna Hunter, a University of Saskatchewan professor of political studies specializing in aboriginal governance, says the AMC's request is unique but she says other First Nations groups across the country will likely follow suit.
Continue Article

"On a provincewide basis, this is definitely an innovative approach but I think it's an approach that other provinces' First Nations groups will probably take forward," she said.

MTS officials have declined to comment on the issue until they see the group's proposal.

[Donovanf]

Originally Posted by bc2mb

honestly! this is ridiculous.. compensation for airspace? I could see if a tower was built on one of the reservations/territory or something... but c'mon.

In European countries like England and Germany the G3 band of airspace is auctioned off to providers. It is not that uncommon. But as it will be only for reserves it will give them a disadvantage as it will increase their cost or people will not provide cell phone service there.

[Wpg_Guy]

i laughed when I read that the other day. Maybe the chiefs should look into the corruption and mismanagement of funds within their bands and pay back their creditors before trying to take ownership of the skies above them.

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by Donovanf

In European countries like England and Germany the G3 band of airspace is auctioned off to providers. It is not that uncommon. But as it will be only for reserves it will give them a disadvantage as it will increase their cost or people will not provide cell phone service there.

I agree, the idea makes sense in Eurpoe because of its population density. With Manitoba's sparsely populated north I think it will have the effect of providers abandoing that market.

Cell phone service is already pretty sketchy to start with in the far north. The chiefs aren't really providing a great incentive to the telecos to continue what limited service they already provide.

[ReginaGuy]

what a bunch of greedy money-grabbing idiots

next thing you know, they're going to be asking NASA to pay them every time a satellite passes over the reserve

[Mayor Quimby]

We can all be thankful for our position in this country due to the First Nations and the treaties. Everything we have can be traced to those treaties and the peaceful surrender of their land to the English Crown. For centuries, Europeans have done everything in their power to assimilate and crush the spirit of the First Nations. This is just the beginning, they have the right to so many things according to the treaties and they must be recognized and met.

As for the air, it is owned by the Crown and subsequently the governments that are entities of the Crown. They are just asking for what is rightfully theirs. At least they are asking, they could have just started levy fees or taxes, or went to court for retroactive entitlements. The law is pretty cut and dry on this one.

[The Jabroni]

Jeeze, how much money do they want? It's sounds almost as bad when this one band in Ontario was suing some person or group for trillions of dollars or something a while back.

[rrskylar]

I second what that First Nations lawyer and businessman from BC said a couple of weeks back, " get off your asses and work"!

[Only The Lonely..]

Excuses , excuses.

It's the shit leadership of these chiefs that keeps the aboriginal community in the dark. These guys should be looking for real solutions and be doing everything in their power to encourage private investment.

Instead they go after these 'pie in the sky' ideas. The sad part is there's people counting on these jokers to advance their community.

[vid]

Originally Posted by The Jabroni

Jeeze, how much money do they want? It's sounds almost as bad when this one band in Ontario was suing some person or group for trillions of dollars or something a while back.

I think it was the Iroquois, suing about 4 trillion as compensation for taking Southern Ontario away from them - they wanted all of the money it had made over the course of it's history and compensation for it's having been taken away for 450 years. It was thrown out because it was just a dumb idea. They're not going to get support doing that.

This is just a cash grab.

[Dalreg]

Well can we charge them for the air they are breathing? How retarded can you get.

I see this as just a way to grab attention and focus it on the native poopulation. But not in any good way.

[Brokenhead]

Originally Posted by vid

I think it was the Iroquois, suing about 4 trillion as compensation for taking Southern Ontario away from them - they wanted all of the money it had made over the course of it's history and compensation for it's having been taken away for 450 years. It was thrown out because it was just a dumb idea. They're not going to get support doing that.

This is just a cash grab.

Isn't Canada's national debt less than that.

[vid]

Yes, it's about a 10th of that.

The economy itself is just barely a trillion dollars a year.

[Mayor Quimby]

Once gain the subtle underlying racism in Western Canada rears its ugly head.

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by Mayor Quimby

Once gain the subtle underlying racism in Western Canada rears its ugly head.

care to go into more depth?

[biguc]

Originally Posted by Only The Lonely..

I agree, the idea makes sense in Eurpoe because of its population density. With Manitoba's sparsely populated north I think it will have the effect of providers abandoing that market.

Cell phone service is already pretty sketchy to start with in the far north. The chiefs aren't really providing a great incentive to the telecos to continue what limited service they already provide.

Exactly. The part I put in bold is so right I see no need to continue this discussion. The chiefs are shooting themselves in the foot: this scheme will garner them no money, and stymie development in their areas.

End of story. All discussion about native rights and evil white men is irrelevant--this move is irrational.

[rrskylar]

By Robson Fletcher
BRANDON'S population will increase by about one per cent over the next few months as Maple Leaf Fresh Foods brings 380 new employees to the city from China and Colombia.

The sudden influx of people is expected to bring a major economic boost to the city, but also further squeeze the already tight market for rental housing.

The pork processing facility has hired 208 workers from China who will begin arriving in mid-June, plant manager Leo Collins said Thursday, and another 172 people from Colombia will start arriving in late August.

The extra staff are needed as Maple Leaf prepares a second shift on the kill side of its operation. Collins said that is to begin on Sept. 4.

"We'll go to 75,000 hogs a week," he said.

Maple Leaf will make sure all the new employees have a place to live once they arrive, Collins added.
Click here to find out more!
"We're securing rental properties right now," he said. "We'll have rental properties available for them upon their arrival."

The company's large-scale uptake of rental units, however, has made it more difficult for individuals like Doreen Sanderson to find affordable housing in Brandon.

The single mom with a 14-year-old daughter has been looking for a place to live for the last two months, after moving back to Brandon from British Columbia.

"It's hard out there. People are fighting for housing," she said from her temporary home in a local shelter.

"You get to meet a lot of people in our situation when you're out there looking... There are people living in hotels -- whole families."

Sanderson said that in her search for rental housing, she has often come across units that are vacant but reserved for soon-to-arrive Maple Leaf workers.

"They had already paid for the rent and the damage deposit," she said.

That concerns city councillor Errol Black, who believes the city needs to do more to spur development of housing for low- and middle-income earners.
"Maple Leaf is gobbling up a big part of the rental accommodations in Brandon to accommodate offshore workers," he said.

Black said the city should use some of the land it owns and partner with the provincial government to build more social housing right away.

The rapid population growth will be good news for other people in Brandon, though.

Business owners -- particularly those in the retail and service industry -- can expect a boost in revenue as new customers arrive in the city, Brandon Chamber of Commerce president Nonny Cancade said.

"Economically speaking, it's very good," he said. "Overall, it's really positive for Brandon."

-- Brandon Sun





If the aboriginal unemployment rate in Manitoba is so high and their leadership complains about lack of job opportunities shouldn't they be asking Maple Leaf about some sort of agreement to hire aboriginals before they bring in employee's from other countries? Or are these jobs at Maple Leaf just not first nations jobs?

[ScrappyPeg]

Seems whenever anyone says anything that's not in favour of Aboriginal this or that - it *has to be racist. But if an Aboriginal, who happens to be in a high profile position, comments on his methods of dealing with the 'white man' - it's justified.

I'm sure that something is included somewhere in the Charter or in one of the signed treaties that does say Cell phone companies owe aboriginals royalties (or whatever) for using their airspace.

Anyone feel like saying 'enough is enough'?

[Mayor Quimby]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

care to go into more depth?

I don't know, maybe read this thread.

[Marc B.]

Originally Posted by ScrappyPeg

Seems whenever anyone says anything that's not in favour of Aboriginal this or that - it *has to be racist. But if an Aboriginal, who happens to be in a high profile position, comments on his methods of dealing with the 'white man' - it's justified.

I'm sure that something is included somewhere in the Charter or in one of the signed treaties that does say Cell phone companies owe aboriginals royalties (or whatever) for using their airspace.

Because typical reactions to any news about First Nation communities are rooted in ignorance and racism. I'm not sure any respectable organization thought Terry Nelson's comments last month were acceptable. (Though, his anger over the pace of land claims is justified. They take a long time to settle, often in the neighborhood of fifteen to twenty years from the submission of a claim to its resolution. All aboriginal claims are historical, that is, they stem from events and agreements that occured in the relatively distant past and involve historical research. The time it takes to research claims properly, plus the time involved in negotiations, litigation, appeals, and so on, all adds up.)

Anyway, there is nothing in any treaty or surrender about cell transmissions, but the way I read the article, the issue is about consent. Anybody know if MTS or other carriers signed agreements to send signals across private or Crown land? This particular issue seems a little frivolous, but I'm curious to see where it goes.