Government direction remains murky

Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice was on the receiving end of criticism in May and early June as he hinted at a new approach by the new Conservative government in dealing with Aboriginal issues.

After six month's of Conservative rule, specialists in Aboriginal Affairs are beginning to arrive at the position that the government has no political will to do any more than it must on Aboriginal issues, while at the same time trying to appear not to be anti-Aboriginal.

Long-time Lubicon Cree advisor Fred Lennarson said the recent controversy over the relocation of the flood-ravaged Kasheshewan First Nation in Northern Ontario is a case in point.

The battle over whether or not the Liberals budgeted funds for the move-the Conservatives say they didn't-skirts the question of whether or not the new government has the political will to actually spend money and take action on the matter.

The controversy over the lack of funding in the federal budget to implement the initiatives agreed to by provincial and territorial premiers and Aboriginal leaders at last November's First Ministers Meeting in Kelowna also adds fuel to the fire. Former Finance Minister Ralph Goodale and current Liberal Indian Affairs critic Anita Neville say money for the Kelowna Accord was "booked" by their government. The Conservatives say there was no money committed.
Neville urged Prentice to retract his statement that the former Liberal government did not financially account for the $5.1 billion in commitments stemming from Kelowna.

"I hope this was a case where Minister Prentice erred in speaking and not a deliberate attempt on his part to misrepresent the facts," she said, referring to comments made by the minister during question period on May 30. "He certainly knows that the Liberal government committed the Kelowna Accord dollars in the economic and fiscal update that was presented on Nov. 14, 2005."
In an interview, Neville told Windspeaker she believes Prentice sincerely wants to help improve the lives of Aboriginal people. She's just not sure it's a priority for his party.

"We are all frustrated with the Conservative Party's stance on the Kelowna Accord and Aboriginal issues in general. Frankly so am I. So are the first ministers. So are Aboriginal groups from coast to coast to coast. However that does not give Minister Prentice the justification to misrepresent the facts," she said in a release. "If he spoke inaccurately due to the frustration he is experiencing because of his party's apathy towards Aboriginal issues, he should simply clarify the record. If it was a more deliberate attempt to misrepresent the truth, then he owes all Aboriginal Canadians an apology."

Technicians in Ottawa believe the government, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is going to depart from the co-operative-and some say progressive-spirit that was demonstrated by the previous federal government at the First Ministers Meeting, in favor of something more dictatorial.

The minister appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs on May 31. Dr. Michael Posluns, a veteran Ottawa watcher who was, until recently, a Native Studies professor at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, went over the minister's remarks and attempted to deconstruct them.

He pointed to one quote as a sign that political considerations are getting in the way of action on the Aboriginal agenda.

"[B]asic democratic values must be promoted, such as transparency in governance structures among governments, accountability and responsibility of all elected officials to their members," Prentice told the standing committee, hinting at the return of governance legislation for First Nations.

"This is another way of disparaging First Nations, of course," said Posluns. "Far from supporting self-government, Prentice will introduce legislation that aggrandizes his own office and subjects First Nations to greater controls rather than fewer controls."

Posluns pointed to successive reports from auditors general that insist First Nations are required to provide far more reporting than any local government created by provinces.

"Ministers who jump up and down calling for more accountability are saying exactly the opposite of what the auditor general is saying."

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Phil Fontaine, appearing before the standing committee on June 7, "respectfully but vigorously" challenged Prentice's remarks.
"The minister spoke of some plans to address his government's priorities. He may have left you with the impression that First Nations have been consulted and support those plans," he said. "While the minister and I have ongoing discussions and share concerns on a number of matters, such as education, housing and issues pertaining to women, children and families, we are not involved in any working groups. We do not agree that First Nations have been consulted on any plans and I have not given the AFN's support to those ideas the minister described."

So far, any criticism of Conservative policy made by the Opposition Liberals has been deflected. Fontaine challenged the wisdom of this strategy.

"I am deeply concerned that the current government is responding to criticisms about its lack of action on our issues by, in turn, pointing the finger at the previous government and its supposed lack of action. We should not be debating who's more inactive. We should be taking action. Real leadership means turning inertia into energy for the betterment of all Canada," he said.

Fontaine also took note of the fact that the Conservative Party has been lukewarm in its response to the United Nations Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

"Let us remember that Canadians are watching and the world is watching," he told the standing committee. "Canada's reputation as a beacon of Aboriginal rights has, frankly, always been built on shaky ground. And it has begun to collapse in recent years under the weight of international scrutiny by the United Nations, Amnesty International and other international organizations."