Accountability is always a good idea

Page 4

We've seen the positions of the Canadian Alliance and the Assembly of First Nations this month as they scrap over accountability measures for First Nations.

Frankly, and we know this isn't going to be a popular sentiment, we think both sides are protesting a bit too much.

If Canadian Alliance members were up on their feet in the House of Commons every day whacking away at the government on issues that are crucial to First Nations people-things like why does it take a court decision to tell INAC and other government ministries they can't unilaterally decide to raid the Roseau River First Nation's trust funds, or why are Aboriginal rights nothing until a court gets around to saying they're something, or why are favorable court rulings on Aboriginal rights cases still nothing long after the high court says they're something-well, then we'd be more inclined to believe that the Alliance's Aboriginal Affairs platform isn't, as Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come put it, "bred by contempt, not by respect for our citizens and the law of the land."

Excuse us if we don't want to be lectured by the likes of Alliance MP Betty Hinton who distinguished herself by calling Chief Art Manuel a traitor because he went to the international scene in disgust after watching Canada and British Columbia completely ignore the Delgamuukw decision for more than two years. That low-brow comment excuses Ms. Hinton from the list of people we take seriously when it comes to discussions of Aboriginal issues. The longer Reed Elley, the Alliance's chief INAC critic, keeps her around as his deputy, the less chance there is that he or his party will have any credibility with anybody who actually wants to approach these issues with an open mind.

But we can't figure out why Matthew Coon Come reacted so angrily to the Alliance motion that public monies allocated to First Nations should be the subject of public scrutiny. If you've got nothing to hide, what's the problem?

We've tried to get information out of band councils and we're here to say-even if it gives aid and comfort to the enemy-that band council accountability stinks.

We get almost daily complaints from First Nation members who say they're being screwed by their councils, and most times, we can't prove or disprove it. Reporters covering any town or city council can be more effective than the Native press because they get access to real information-and it's usually provided willingly.

Provincial legislatures and the federal legislature are a different story. The Freedom of Information Act is really a freedom from information act and the promise of whistle-blower protection for civil servants is almost a joke coming from the Liberals.

And the Cabinet, the Prime Minister's Office and the Board of Internal Economy-the places where the real decisions are made in this country-are still about as open and transparent as any banana republic dictator's private slush fund.

So, we welcome the chance to take a look at the First Nation books. We believe it will give us a chance to write factual stories that will shut up the people who, right now, can claim with immunity that First Nation governments are stealing the public's money.

And as for Mr. Coon Come's comment that First Nations get less than their share of public allocation and then get criticized for having their hands out, we believe that. He's said it before (more than two years ago) and we've looked into it and we've got a feeling he's right. But we couldn't do the story because chiefs and councils won't give us a look at their books so we can prove it.