The plan was that the Sámi Parliament would have an extra digital plenum on August 30, the day before the response period expires for the Sámi villages’ internal organization.
The question was reissued at the plenary session in Arvidsjaur last spring, after the board’s proposal for an opinion was rejected.
Hoped to answer
The government has requested the referral bodies’ answers by 31 August, and the idea of an extra plenum was that the Sámi Parliament would, after all, have time to respond.
But the contacts the board had with the opposition parties on August 9 indicated that there would still be no opinion.
– It was rejected that the issue should be tabled. Then there was no reason to have an extra plenum, says Håkan Jonsson, who represents the Hunting & Fishing Sami.
Within the opposition, they are satisfied that the extra plenum has been cancelled.
“Good with more time”
– It is good. We need time to discuss such an important issue, says Marita Stinnerbom, one of the leaders of the party Guovssonásti.
She calls for a risk analysis of the board’s proposal, which she believes is very different from the proposal put forward by the authority Sami Parliament – but which the board rejected and instead put forward its own proposal.
Anita Stinnerbom also sees no danger that the opinion on the Sami villages will only be submitted in November, at the same time as the Renmarkskommittee continues its work.
– I see no risk with that. The Renmarkskommittee has a lot to work with over a longer period. Even if the Sami Parliament’s opinion comes in in November, it is such an important issue that our opinions will be included.
Jonsson expert
Board chairman Håkan Jonsson regrets that the opinion cannot be issued in time.
– At the same time, I myself am an expert on the Renmarkskommittee, and I will be there to inform about the situation and present the board’s proposal, says Jonsson.
After the decision on the re-referral at the beginning of June, the Sami Parliament requested an extended response time from the government. The Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure announced on Tuesday that the matter is still “under preparation”.