The Canadian government has chosen to appeal the Federal Court ruling which exempts the descendants of Dene and Cree Indians who signed Treaty 8 from having to pay federal tax - whether on reserve or off reserve.

Like Treaties 1 through 7, Treaty 8 itself does not mention tax, or promise an exemption from it. Neither the Cree nor the Dene languages contain a word which means "tax." Indians who in 1899 continued to sustain themselves by hunting, gathering, trapping, and fishing did not pay excise or property taxes - the only taxes then in effect.

Further, the Indian Act did not exempt Indians from having to pay tax on property held off-reserve.

Government negotiators assured the Cree and Dene that the treaty itself would not lead to the imposition of any tax - and it didn't.

Mr. Justice Douglas Campbell found as a fact that federal negotiators in 1899 did not promise Dene and Cree tribes in northern Alberta a perpetual and all-encompassing tax exemption. But he ruled that the honour of the Crown must be maintained by catering to a sincere but mistaken belief.

He did so based on testimony from Joe Willier, Celeste Randhile and Francois Paulette. Born decades after Treaty 8 was signed, they claimed that they heard from their fathers, who heard from their fathers, that Indians were told they would not have to pay any tax at any time for any reason.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) intervened in this case to argue that a tax exemption on the basis of racial ancestry would violate numerous international treaties and conventions against racism, to which Canada is a signatory.

Referring to the lives and principles of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, the CTF argued that the progress of human civilization has been towards equality, so a race-based tax exemption would be a step backwards. Further, a race-neutral tax system is required by the equality rights of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In response to the CTF's arguments, Justice Campbell writes that "a tax exemption right exercised by Treaty 8 People is not based on so called 'racial considerations', but rather on the negotiated terms of the Treaty."

This assertion seems to ignore the fact that this treaty was between "Her most Gracious Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland" and "the Cree, Beaver, Chipewyan and other Indians". Charles Benoit, the plaintiff who commenced this action, claimed a treaty right to be exempt from tax as a descendant of the Treaty 8 Indians. This treaty's benefits apply only to aboriginals, not to Canadians whose ancestors came from Asia, Europe or Africa.

In declaring that a tax exemption is based on a "negotiated term of the treaty," Justice Campbell contradicts himself, having found as a historical fact that the commissioners did not promise a tax exemption. Hence it was not even a term of the treaty, let alone a negotiated term.

In any event, getting your federal tax exemption will require proving that you are a descendant of "the Cree, Beaver, Chipewyan or other Indians" who signed Treaty 8.

In his ruling, Justice Campbell accuses the CTF of "unfairly playing the 'race' card." But in fact, without the right ancestry, you cannot get the tax exemption, period. Individuals with the "right" ancestry, even when living and working in Edmonton or Calgary, will be exempt from taxes which their neighbours must pay. Justice Campbell's decision will create unnecessary tensions between aboriginal people and other Canadians. If anyone is playing a race card, it is Justice Campbell -- not those who argue for the equality of all Canadians before the law.

The CTF will apply for intervener status in the Federal Court of Appeal, to argue that the only basis for a tax exemption is poverty - not race or ancestry. The federal government's choice to appeal this divisive ruling is good news for taxpayers.