Aboriginal candidates beat at Liberal door

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A half dozen or more high profile Aboriginal people have announced they intend to run for the federal Liberals in the next election, expected this spring.

Assembly of First Nations Ontario Vice-chief Charles Fox has now officially thrown his hat into the ring in the Kenora riding. He will have to knock off veteran MP (and former Indian Affairs minister) Robert Nault if he wishes to represent the Liberals there.

Windspeaker obtained a letter, written by Barry Christoff, president of the Aboriginal Peoples Liberal Commission-Ontario (APLCO ), that informs Karl Littler, the party's Ontario campaign director, that Fox and Metis Nation of Ontario senior policy analyst Hank Rowlinson will attempt to become Liberal candidates. Christoff referred to one other potential candidate in this letter who he did not name.

Rowlinson hopes to represent the Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing riding. His wife Loma Mathias, former co-star of APTN's Cooking with the Wolfman, is the vice-president of communications of the APLCO.

Christoff is a member of the Assembly of First Nations' legal staff. He uses the AFN main number as part of his contact information on his APLCO letterhead. AFN communication's director Don Kelly said there was no policy in place that forbids employees from getting involved in outside politics. There was no comment regarding the specific use of the organization's number on official APLCO letterhead.

There could, however, be concerns over sitting AFN chiefs holding party memberships. In a 1986 resolution, the AFN resolved that a First Nation spokesperson or representative "shall not" be a member of a non-First Nation political party.

In early December, former Kamloops Indian Band chief Bonnie Leonard announced her intention to run as a Liberal.

In early January, former Keeseekoose First Nation chief Ted Quewezance told Windspeaker that he will take on Garry Breitkreuz, the Official Opposition critic for firearms and property rights, in the Yorkton-Melville riding in Saskatchewan.

Quewezance said he expected little difficulty in becoming the Liberal candidate in that riding. He also said he believes he can beat Breitkreuz, although he conceded it would be a tough battle.

Blood Tribe Chief Chris Shade, while speaking at a Liberal Party gathering in Edmonton on Jan. 17, told Windspeaker he has stepped down as Treaty 7 grand chief to run for the Liberals in southern Alberta. He also will have to beat a former Alliance candidate (now Conservative Party of Canada) to earn the right to sit as an MP.

Prime Minister Paul Martin let it be known he wants more Aboriginal candidates for his party and many Aboriginal people are now working to give the new PM what he wants.

Shade said he was asked to run shortly after he met Paul Martin last year.

In Manitoba, Norway House First Nation Chief Ron Evans is seeking the Liberal nomination in the riding of Churchill. The nomination meeting is scheduled for Feb. 10. He would take on Metis NDP candidate Bev Desjarlais if he is successful.

Oil and gas man Joe Dion, who ran unsuccessfully against Phil Fontaine for national chief in 1997, mirrored the enthusiasm of the other candidates when he was asked what he believes his chances are in Westlock-St. Paul, a new riding north of Edmonton. Dion likes his chances in a riding where there are six or seven reserves and four Metis settlements.

"I think it's a great riding for an Aboriginal candidate," he said.

The Kehewin First Nation member was born and raised in the area and, although he maintains an office in Vancouver, has longstanding ties to the region. Dion is president of Frog Lake Energy Corporation. The company is drilling wells and producing oil in northern Alberta. He also provides consultation services on oil and gas matters for First Nations.

He believes the Liberals have a chance to make some gains in Western Canada and that Native people who didn't vote at all before will vote for Aboriginal Liberal candidates.

I think there's going to be quite a movement. The First Nations and the Metis, the Aboriginal communities, are determined to get their person in. We have to push for the polls to be in the communities," he said.

He was asked if it was possible to establish federal polling places on reserves, despite a long-held objection from First Nations communities in allowing this in the past.

"I think so. The Aboriginal peoples are one of the top priorities of Paul Martin, so I think we should be pushing to get polls on the reserves. It makes sense," he said.

Native and non-Native people alike are enthusiastic about the change in Liberal leadership, Dion said, and that will help a party that has not had much success on the Prairies in recent memory.

"He's definitely wooing the West, wooing the Aboriginal vote, the Aboriginal folks. By cleaning house the way he did, by getting the Chretien supporters out of the cabinet, there's a new face," Dion said.

The candidate is busy meeting with Aboriginal leaders to seek their support.

"I am meeting with the chiefs and the Metis leaders too. My protocol is to meet with the leaders first. But after this, I'll be out there meeting with the communities themselves," he said.

Dion believes the next step, now that Aboriginal people are being encouraged to run, is to have successful Aboriginal candidates sitting at the cabinet table.

"There has to be. There has to be. I'm certainly pushing for one. If I get elected, I'm Aboriginal, I know the field, I know the issues. I can handle any of those portfolios. So I'm definitely going to be pushing for it. I've even written him and told him that. I said, 'Look, if I'm elected, I'm looking for something.' And he has to. He's said he's looking for leadership that is cabinet material," Dion said.

Many Ottawa sources see the next few months as a waiting period. If Martin gets the mandate to lead the country in the election, sweeping changes to the way government operates are expected. Dion seesit that way as well.

"I would think so. Paul Martin is looking for show me, give me, tell me what is. If I get in, I've got some ideas," he said.