MP wants Liberals to question budget cuts

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Deborah Grey reacted strongly when she heard the Assembly of First Nations national chief allege that his organization's budget was cut mainly because it opposed the First Nations governance act initiative. The Edmonton North MP urged the Liberal members of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern Development and Natural Resources to question their government and look into the accusation.

At that time, the AFN budget had been slashed from a total of $19 million to about $11 million for the fiscal year 2001-2002 with core funding of $2.1 million. Indian Affairs sources say the core funding for this fiscal year has been set at $2.09 million. Additional monies for programs will raise that figure, but negotiations aimed at finalizing which programs the government will agree to fund have not been completed. Some recent published reports have mentioned $6 million as a total figure, which would mean a dramatic drop of another $5 million in total funding.

Grey heard the allegation that compliance to government wishes was connected to funding levels when Chief Matthew Coon Come, Quebec Vice Chief Ghislain Picard and the national chief's special assistant Richard Powless appeared before the standing committee on Feb. 28. A transcript of the session was circulated widely in April. An assistant in Grey's office told Windspeaker on April 19 that none of the government members of the committee responded to her challenge.

"One year ago, I probably wouldn't have believed it possible that if one voiced concerns and opposed something, they would think they could pay a price for it. But I am troubled by what I'm hearing about your concerns about budget cuts. I don't know if we can get to the bottom of this. But if that is going on, I'm going to ask the government members on this committee to get to the bottom of it, because you certainly have the ear of the minister more than the rest of us," said Grey. "So I'm going to ask you folks to do that, on behalf of everyone in this committee. If there is any correlation to that, just because someone speaks out against it, that is deplorable."

Coon Come raised the issue in response to a question from Richard Marceau, Bloc Quebecois MP for Charlesbourg-Jacques-Cartier.

"It's probably a combination of many things why our budget was cut. First of all, it probably had to do with some of the comments I made in the world conference against racism. I felt I was misquoted, when I was only quoting from documents of the federal government-from RCAP and the Human Rights Commission. These are reports in which Canada is involved and that Canada paid for, like RCAP," the national chief said. "I think the message of the minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development is if you are opposed to the legislation, your budget is cut. The Native women's association opposed it, then a new national women's organization was created. The minister had funds for that. Right across this country, the people who are participating in the process somehow have the ear of the minister. I thought those days were gone."

Marceau also questioned the fairness of the government tactics that the AFN representatives were describing.

"Consequently, the overall process is invalid, since if you do not agree with the government position, your funds are cut and organizations that do not have the same political clout as yours does are set up. That's just a way for the government to divide and conquer and to create stakeholders . . . . The stakeholders will put forward a position that is in line with what the department wants to hear. That's what you're telling us, isn't it?" he asked.

The Quebec vice chief answered him in very direct terms.

"I am presenting a very clear message here. What I'm saying is that if we happen to decide to oppose an approach put in place by the department of Indian Affairs, the minister of Indian Affairs or the federal government, then our wings are clipped. It's as simple as that. hat is what is happening, as a matter of fact," Picard said. "In my opinion, even when the minister is in the wrong, at the end of the day, he's in the right, and it is the Assembly of First Nations which has to back down. This is despite all the various government policies in which we have participated in good faith over the past four or five years."