Chiefs turf high profile co-chairs

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Two prominent Native leaders were "disciplined" in absentia by the small number of chiefs gathered for the two-day Assembly of First Nations special confederacy that concluded Feb. 21 in Ottawa.

Clarence "Manny" Jules and Herb George were removed as co-chairs from the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) fiscal relations committee by a vote of 37 to two. There are 633 member First Nations eligible to vote at AFN assemblies.

Jules is the former chief of the Kamloops Indian Band in British Columbia and now heads the Indian Taxation Advisory Board. George is the AFN vice-chief in B.C. and is also one of three executive members of British Columbia's First Nations Summit. Neither was in Ottawa for the vote. Both were disciplined for their support of the Fiscal and Statistical Management act (Bill C-19) despite an AFN resolution to oppose it, according to the resolution calling for their ouster.

Resolution 2/2003 was moved by Bryan Laforme, chief of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation (Ontario). The seconder was Barriere Lake First Nation (Quebec) technician Russell Diabo, who was acting as proxy for B.C.'s Penticton Indian Band Chief Stewart Phillip. Phillip is the president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Nations, a group that represents B.C. First Nations not involved in the treaty process.

The mover and seconder are both members of the implementation committee, a group that was formed a year ago following an unsanctioned chiefs meeting in Winnipeg that was called to deal with some grassroots chiefs' concerns that the AFN executive was not following the resolutions passed by the chiefs-in-assembly.

The resolution stated that resolution 35/2002 adopted a "proactive strategy to oppose the federal suite of legislation, including the Fiscal and Statistical Management act (Bill C-19) and . . . the current co-chairs of the AFN fiscal relations committee have continued to support the [act] in clear contravention of the national mandate."

Bill Erasmus, AFN vice-chief for the Northwest Territories, suggested that voting on the motion was a mistake.

"We don't have a lot of people here," he said. "The co-chairs are not here. We haven't heard from them on what position they're taking."

Erasmus interpreted the motion to be a statement that the co-chairs were "not doing their job." Laforme said that was not what the resolution stated.

"We're not saying that. We're saying they're in contravention of the resolutions," he said.

Three votes were actually cast in opposition to the resolution. The vice-chief for the Yukon region, Mary Jane Jim, raised her hand to vote "no," but was not counted because she is an executive member. The other two dissenters were British Columbia chiefs.

On the surface, the move appears to be a simple act of enforcing the AFN's charter. But there may be more to it than that.

National Chief Matthew Coon Come has spent a good part of the last three years trying to hold the AFN together, both for the sake of the organization and to avoid alienating potential support for his re-election. That juggling act may have ended with the vote, Coon Come being unable to prevent chiefs from regions that strongly disapprove of Bill C-19 from attacking the British Columbia chiefs who support the proposed act.

British Columbia chiefs who are involved in the treaty process generally support the fiscal relations act. They have no treaties and a small land base and see the measures in the bill, which allow for the creation of financial institutions that serve member First Nations, as a positive move.

There is also provision in the bill for bands to raise revenue through taxation. Treaty First Nations and others who reject the concept of taxation see the bill as a threat to their rights.

There does not appear to be any middle ground on this issue, although the national chief and his executive have searched desperately for it.

Many chiefs defended the legitimacy of maing decisions for the AFN chief with so few delegates, saying it was the end of the fiscal year and money for travel was lacking. Others said the assembly was called at the last minute and that meant many chiefs did not have enough notice to attend.

But others said the small turnout for the meeting was another indicator the AFN was in serious trouble, with chiefs staying away because the organization was no longer relevant.

After the resolution passed, along with another that called for the March Confederacy scheduled for Vancouver to be moved to April in Ottawa, Nanoose First Nation (British Columbia) Chief Wayne Edwards had some harsh words for the group.

"We have a fairly big problem with the way business is being done," he said. "The fact is that the province of British Columbia seems to be getting further and further away from the AFN, because of the way business is being done. You need to look at how having such few in number making decisions is reflecting on the AFN."

He hinted that B.C. may pull out of the national organization.

"I just don't see any future for the AFN if this is how things are going to be done," he added.

Six Nations (Ontario) Chief Roberta Jamieson said the motion to move the next confederacy from Vancouver to Ottawa was not intended to be an insult to the B.C. chiefs. She said it was important that the chiefs be in Ottawa while the fight against the federal government's suite of First Nations governance initiatives was still at its height.

Attempts to reach Jules and George were not successful.