Accountability for all

Page 4

There are a lot of stories about accountability-or the lack of it-throughout this month's issue. It wasn't something we planned. It just worked out that way.

For every story we write on this subject there are as many as a dozen dead end leads we follow where there's smoke but no fire or no way to prove who set the fire. While there is no shortage of stories about band members (and land claim settlement members) complaining about not getting enough information from their elected representatives, we want to emphasize that this is not a First Nation specific problem.

Lest the Indian Affairs minister decide to point to the content in this issue in an attempt to prove his point that First Nations need his governance act, we feel the need to remind him that there were a couple of major accountability stories about his government this month.

On April 17, Dr. Keith Martin, a Canadian Alliance MP, broke a hallowed tradition by picking up the mace and declaring in the House of Commons that "Parliament is not a democracy anymore."

He did that in protest of a government tactic that suppresses free speech and renders the people's representatives powerless. The Liberals added a "poison pill" amendment to his private members bill to decriminalize marijuana. The intent was to kill the bill by making it unpalatable to government members who might otherwise decide it was worthy.

We're not going to comment on the merits of the bill, but the idea of suppressing debate in private members business, one of the few areas where MPs get to speak their mind and vote their conscience without the restrictions of party discipline, is repugnant to us. We need more, not less free speech-that most basic building block of democracy.

Dr. Martin was suspended from Parliament for his transgression and used the opportunity and his sudden increased notoriety to drive home his point that Parliament needs to be reformed. The stranglehold of the Prime Minister's Office needs to be broken if the government can ever again be said to be truly representative of the people, he said.

The Victoria area MP will apologize to the Speaker and return to his seat in the green chamber, by and by, but we hope his message will penetrate at least a few Ottawa area skulls.

Canada has nothing to brag about when it comes to accountability. First Nations learned governance at the feet of Canadian parliamentarians and if there's trouble with accountability in some First Nations, that's no coincidence.

The Auditor General's report released this month also pointed out some glaring problems with the way the federal government operates. So please, let's not point the finger at First Nations.

We could all use a little bit more accountability and we'll be more inclined to trust the minister when his government walks the walk.