Merasty tries to breathe life back into Kelowna Accord

Page 4

The Kelowna Accord seemed to have died when the Conservative Party formed the government of Canada, but one Liberal Member of Parliament is hoping to bring the agreement back to life.

At the end of September, MP for Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River, Gary Merasty, tabled a motion calling on the Conservatives to immediately implement what was agreed to in the Kelowna Accord.

That means the House of Commons will be forced to vote on the issue this month.

"This is unacceptable," said Merasty. "With a $13.2 billion surplus, there is absolutely no reason Aboriginal people have to live like this, particularly when Kelowna provided a road map and a consensus for a way forward."

The Kelowna Accord was signed Nov. 25 of last year by then prime minister Paul Martin, the premiers and Aboriginal leaders from across Canada. The accord was to set aside $5 billion over five years to improve the lives of First Nations, Metis and Inuit people in specific areas such as education, housing, clean water, health and economic development.

Some Aboriginal leaders called the agreement a breakthrough.

"All the targets we've set are achievable," Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said at the time the agreement was signed. "We're driving this process and forcing government to respond to our plan."

However, shortly after what has been called an historic agreement was reached, Martin's government fell, and the Conservatives came to power in a January election.

When the Conservatives announced their budget in May of this year, they did not mention the Kelowna Accord. They chose not to implement it. Instead they put money into some of the areas mentioned in the accord. The government allocated $150 million for 2006 and $300 million in 2007 for things like upgrading education programs and off-reserve housing, providing clean water, and closing the economic gap.

The Kelowna Accord would have allocated $600 million in 2006 for housing, health, and education.

Many premiers, including those from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, have expressed their disappointment that the Conservative government has chosen not to honour the accord.

Merasty led the chorus of disapproval when he stood in the House of Commons at the end of last month.

He told the House that the Conservatives were moving backwards in the government's relationship with Aboriginal people.

chose to kill the Kelowna Accord," he told the House. "Everybody, and I mean everybody, wants the accord honoured."

Merasty spoke about a recent media report about rampant tuberculosis rates in his northern riding, the likely result of black mould growing in houses. He said something needs to be done to address the disparity in living conditions amongst Aboriginal people compared to non-Aboriginal people in Canada.

He hopes voting on the motion to implement the accord will be a step in the right direction.