Vellacott named committee chair

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Saskatoon-Wanuskewin Member of Parliament Maurice Vellacott has been chosen to chair the Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, despite the concerns of many in the Aboriginal community who believe he is the wrong man for the job.

Vellacott was elected chair during the committee's meeting on May 1, but the news came as no surprise, thanks to an April 18 announcement by Vellacott that Prime Minister Stephen Harper planned to nominate him to head up the standing committee.

Vellacott raised the ire of many Aboriginal people in 2004 when he came to the defense of Dan Hatchen and Ken Munson, two former Saskatoon police officers convicted of unlawful confinement after dropping Darrell Night off on the outskirts of the city in the dead of winter. He called for their case to be reopened and set up a legal defense fund to help them prove their innocence.

Vellacott has been a member of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development for several years and previously sat as one of its vice-chairs. He has also served as deputy critic for Aboriginal Affairs when the Conservative party sat on the other side of the House.

About 100 people took part in a rally in Saskatoon on April 28 to voice their opposition to Vellacott's impending election as committee chair. The protestors met at the First Nations University of Canada campus and made their way to Vellacott's office. Vellacott wasn't there but organizers left him a copy of an online petition calling for the prime minister to withdraw his nomination of Vellacott as Aboriginal Affairs committee chair.