Lakeland riding could put Aboriginal MP in Ottawa

Only one riding in Alberta has two Indigenous candidates going head-to-head. This is the riding that stands the strongest chance of sending an Aboriginal Member of Parliament to Ottawa.

In the new northern riding of Lakeland, Garry Parenteau, the only Liberal Aboriginal candidate in the province, is taking on NDP candidate Duane Zaraska. Both men are Metis and active in the Metis community in the riding. Parenteau has served as chair of the Fishing Lake Métis Settlement, vice-president of the Métis Settlements General Council, and representative of the Métis Settlements General Council to the federal government in Ottawa from 2004-2011. Zaraska is a regional vice-president with the Métis Nation of Alberta, serving on its regional and provincial councils and as vice-president of the Major Projects group. He was recently appointed to the Aboriginal Planning and Advisory Committee, which provides recommendations to the Alberta Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Agency.

Parenteau comes from a long line of Liberals, so when it came time to choosing a party, it wasn’t difficult.

“I’m a long time Liberal - six decades. My father was a Liberal supporter, my grandfather was a Liberal from Batoche,” he said.

For Zaraska, joining the NDP was an easy choice, because not only are they committed to the Indigenous people, but leader Thomas Mulcair is “genuine. That’s another reason I am NDP, because I would not be associated with a party that is not true to that.”

On Oct. 7, Mulcair was the only leader to attend an open forum called by the Assembly of Frist Nations and held on Enoch Cree Nation. There, he unveiled the NDP’s ambitious billions dollar plan for working with Aboriginal peoples.

Indigenous issues. Both the Liberals and NDP have strong, comprehensive platforms when it comes to Indigenous issues. Both have committed to undertaking the calls to action outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as well as implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and undertaking a national public inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women.

It was Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, who first raised Aboriginal concerns when he rolled out his party’s plan to give funding for First Nations education, all the way from grade school to post-secondary. It was a commitment reiterated by Liberal Aboriginal affairs critic Carolyn Bennett, when she was in Edmonton last month.

Early in the campaign, Mulcair restated his party’s commitment to calling a national public inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women within the first 100 days, should the NDP form government.

“The NDP is the only party that has made a priority to work with Indigenous peoples and improve their lives and living conditions. And they’re willing to look at every single thing an Indigenous person deserves,” said Zaraska, who adds that the present government’s refusal to live up to treaty obligations is “disgraceful.”

Economic issues. Lakeland is a large, diverse riding and like the rest of the province, it is suffering from the downturn in the oil industry. Concerns over the privatization of the Canadian Wheat Board is also an issue.

The fate of pipelines like Northern Gateway and Keystone XL have been raised, says Parenteau.

“How do we address the concerns of the Aboriginal people about environment? It’s a large issue for the Aboriginal people,” he said.

Zaraska agrees, noting that economics and environment, in particular when talking about oil and gas development, “go hand in hand. They’re not opposites. It’s not one or the other.”

Change needed. Both Parenteau and Zaraska are getting the same message: Harper and the Conservative have got to go.

“I’ve been sitting here the last few years really discouraged by the way the government is forgetting about every single individual and basically the need for change,” said Zaraska. “I’ve been out talking to a lot of people… and that seems to be what they’re after, change.”

Parenteau is confident that Aboriginal people in the riding – which consists of five First Nations and four Metis settlements – will exercise their right to vote.

“With the dissatisfaction of the Conservative government and their performance over the last 10 years, a lot of the Aboriginal people are willing to come to vote,” he said.

And neither man believes that vote will be split in such a way that the Conservatives, represented by Shannon Stubbs, will win.

“We need change (and) the Liberals offer positive change,” said Parenteau.

“Because people want change I’m thinking positive, I’m being very optimistic, maybe cautiously optimistic, I guess. I’m thinking the other way around I think the Conservatives and Liberals might split the vote and NDP will get in there,” said Zaraska.

Also contending for the seat are Danielle Montgomery (Green) and Robert McFadzean (Libertarian).