Constitutional changes in the mix for candidate

John Beaucage, candidate for national chief for the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), serves as grand council chief for the First Nations of the Anishinabek Nation and is one of five hopefuls to replace outgoing National Chief Phil Fontaine.
There are numerous issues facing First Nations, said Beaucage. His priorities centre around poverty, education and health.
Without self-determination and self-reliance, First Nations will have a difficult time fighting their way out of poverty, he tells Windspeaker. Youth must have a good education, and then jobs in First Nations communities to bring their skills home. And home should be a safe place, free of addictions, and with potable water for consumption.
"Working out a way to have our communities self-determined and self-reliant, away from dependence on the federal government, is necessary," he said.
But Beaucage is adamant that for First Nations to address those priorities, the Canadian Constitution must be revisited with powers, authorities and jurisdiction divided, not only between the provincial and federal governments, but also First Nation governance.
"With that governance in mind, I think it's time we had another constitutional conference, specifically on First Nation governance and possibly entrenching the rights of First Nation governance within the Constitution," he said.
"Self reliance and self determination are keys to this whole thing because we cannot carry on over the next 100 years depending on government for our every need. We have to be independent in many respects in order to be truly self-determined and self-governed."
Beaucage is calling for the establishment of a Blue Ribbon committee to address economic needs. The committee, which would consist of First Nations people as well as representatives from larger corporations who have worked with First Nations, would make recommendations and set up a strategic plan for building economies for First Nations. A sub-committee would also be established to look specifically at the economic needs and challenges facing the more remote communities.
"I don't think it's going to be an easy task, but just because it's not easy doesn't mean we can't tackle it, we can't work on it. Some of the more challenging communities, it may take them 25, 30 years to be part of the overall economy, but we've got to start somewhere," said Beaucage.
Changes to the way the AFN operates are also high on Beaucage's priority list.
He would like to see the AFN move toward a nationhood model, which would drop membership from the 633 First Nation communities presently represented to 58 or 60 First Nations. Representatives to AFN then would no longer be the chiefs for each community but instead the grand chiefs for the First Nations.
This is not a new idea, said Beaucage, who pointed out that the 2005 AFN renewal document, approved by the chiefs of the time, called for the nationhood model. But Beaucage assured he would not go ahead with the change until further consultation was carried out at the community level and the chiefs approved the new model. He noted that support of the new model from chiefs he has spoken to has been split.
"Right now I don't think the AFN truly represents all of the First Nation members across the country, that we don't look after all our citizens and in particular the 60 per cent of our citizenship that lives off the reserve. They feel disenfranchised. I think with a nationhood model we could bring everybody back into the fold and feel truly represented, truly a part of the process, truly that the AFN belongs to everybody," said Beaucage.
Beaucage believes that he would take inclusiveness a step further by allowing a universal vote, as part of the process within the nationhood model, for the selection of the national chief. The vote would include citizens both on and off reserves. However, it would still be the chiefs that would establish the agenda and budget for the year and move that agenda forward for the AFN.
Beaucage brings with him a proven track record and experience. He was first elected as grand council chief to the 42-member First Nations of the Anishinabek Nation in 2004 and then re-elected by acclamation in 2006. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario with a combined English and Economics degree, Beaucage is a successful businessman.
If Beaucage becomes the new national chief, he said he would establish an advisory committee that can keep him abreast of the issues facing the First Nations communities.
"It's a big country. There are 633 communities out there and each one of them has their own special concerns, each of them has their own special interests and they're all different. And it would be an amazing task for any one person to understand all of it, so you need to have a very capable group of advisors to make sure we don't leave anything out," said Beaucage.
Meeting with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and having the AFN executive meet with the provincial government counterparts would also be among Beaucage's first moves.
"With my track record and experience, I think I could ably do the job of national chief," said Beaucage.