"Planner spends Christmas in jail"

by Lynda Powless - Editor

A Six Nations planner will not be released to the care and control of his community after a Corrections Canada official questioned "the integrity of the community and this council to carry out the plan." Six Nations band council was told last Tuesday.

Tuesday MacDonald, director of social services said the plan for the transfer of Sam Hill to the "care and control" of the community had been established by Corrections Canada lawyers and the social services department.

"Now they're questioning your integrity. Your ability to carry this out," she told council. "This needs political input now."

Hill could have been the first aboriginal inmate to be transferred to the care and control of his community. Section 81 allows for aboriginal inmates to be transferred to their communities to serve their sentences.

MacDonald told council the section could apply to any aboriginal inmate who meets the necessary qualifications to participate in the transfer.

"Everyone, all along, the psychiatrists, Corrections Canada's own lawyers, everyone involved has said Sam is the perfect test case for this program...but if they won't apply the program to Sam, who is suppose to be a perfect case, what about the next person who may not have such a perfect case. This could affect anyone in prison who may be eligible."

MacDonald urged council to support not only Section 81, but to extend Hill's leave of absence, without pay, as a show of support for Section 81. Hill was granted a six month leave of absence that runs out tonight. Council voted last month not to renew the leave.

Councillor Dave Green, said while he "had nothing against Mr. Hill. I gotta vote against this. Are we going to do this for everybody or just Mr. Hill. People are asking me why we're doing this for him." MacDonald told him, anyone who qualified could be eligible for the program. "But someone has to be first," she said.

She told council, "this isn't just something you are doing for Mr. Hill. This applies to the whole

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community. We found out there is another inmate at Beaver Creek where Sam is, who is from here, and asked for a leave to attend Mid-Winter Ceremonies and was told by his worker, that they were going to recommend he not be allowed to return to his community. This is the effect of discrimination on our people in the prison system."

She said the aboriginal inmates are trying to establish a Native Brotherhood at Beaver Creek and submitted a proposal to the prison for the program. "All they said, was who wrote this. Where did you get this from. You must have got it from someone external. They didn't believe an Indian could write a proposal like that. Sam wrote it."

Councillor Les Sowden asked if by not helping Hill "could that have an effect on the bigger picture. On helping anyone who might qualify for this Section." MacDonald told him it could.

"Everyone is saying this is a perfect test case." Councillor Morely Lickers asked council to rescind its earlier motion and give Hill another leave of absence. "I think we should be doing everything we can for our people." Green said he couldn't agree. "I just can't agree. Does it matter if he has a job or not. Does he need it to get out."

MacDonald told him Section 81 requires the inmate to have a job, be in a training program or enrolled in an educational institute. "Fine. That's all I need to know. I'm not changing my vote," Green said. Council turned down the extension.