UOI OFFICES -- Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee chose the first day that Ontario retailers were to resume recognition of the First Nation point-of-sale tax exemption to announce that the Anishinabek Nation political agenda will be taking on a more rights-based focus.

"The province-wide campaign that the Anishinabek led against the Harmonized Sales Tax was ultimately successful," said Madahbee, "but in the process we learned how little other governments, the media, and the general public know about aboriginal and treaty rights.

"Even after the province has sent out notices informing businesses that they must honour the rights of our citizens - on and off-reserve - to tax exemption, we are hearing stories of companies trying to gouge First Nations customers. These retailers are now breaking their own government's laws, as well as ignoring First Nation rights."

UOI staff members conducted a “secret shopper” exercise on Sept. 1 to gauge how well provincial retailers were complying with a provincial regulation calling for resumption of point-of-sale exemption from the 8-per-cent provincial portion of the 13 % HST, which was implemented July 1.  At that time retailers were given a two-month grace period to adjust accounting systems during which First Nation citizens were asked to collect sales receipts and submit to the Ontario ministry of Revenue for refunds.

Overall, UOI staff reported that large chain retailers seemed to have followed provincial guidelines, although there were inconsistencies. The Canadian Tire franchise in North Bay, for example, had posted signs at checkouts asking First Nation customers to present their Certificates of Indian Status, staff had been informed that the point-of-sale exemption was resuming, and receipts indicated that – instead of  the 13% HST -- the total included 5% FNPOS – First Nations Point-of-Sale.  First Nations customers were asked to complete a Tax Exemption Form with their registration number, name, signature and First Nation.

However clerks at the Canadian Tire franchise 15 minutes away in Sturgeon Falls refused to honour the First Nation tax exemption until UOI staff made the manager aware of the provincial regulation.

Wal-Mart was reported to be compliant – except the  retail giant’s Midland outlet –but cash registers had not been updated and staff were manually recording the tax exemptions on register tapes. First Nation shoppers also are asked to complete a simple three-question form.

“We do not want our citizens to endure embarrassment in stores because of the ignorance of their employees,” said UOI chief operating officer Walter Manitowabi, who played a key role in negotiating the continuation of the point-of-sale exemption. “I ran into a First Nations couple shopping in North Bay who somehow had the impression that their status cards would no longer be recognized after July 1^st.”

Grand Council Chief Madahbee called on citizens of the 40 member Anishinabek Nation communities to provide the nearest riding office of a member of the Ontario legislature with the name of any business refusing to respect their point-of-sale exemption to the 8-per-cent provincial sales tax.

"That was part of the deal we negotiated with Ontario; they accepted responsibility for ensuring that all businesses in the province complied with their tax regime. We showed Ontario that we were prepared to take to the streets to fight for our rights; we are also prepared to fight for our rights in stores and malls, if necessary."

Madahbee said the Union of Ontario Indians will re-focus its political advocacy for the Anishinabek on the rights-based aspects of such ongoing issues as citizenship, matrimonial real property and funding for post-secondary education.

"We need to avoid getting into debates about existing government policies in areas like health, education and resource revenue-sharing and start concentrating on the rights that we have had as distinct nations from time immemorial. Canada and Ontario did not give us these rights in the treaties - they agreed to share the wealth they could generate from our lands in return for our military support.

"We have kept our share of the bargain by defending the Crown in Canada for three centuries; now we expect them to start keeping theirs."