"We're Back!" Fontaine takes race in round two

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Phil Fontaine is once again the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

His July 16 victory over Six Nations of the Grand River Chief Roberta Jamieson was secured when about half of those who had voted for former National Chief Matthew Coon Come on the first ballot chose not to follow his wish that they switch their allegiance to Jamieson.

It was the second major defeat of the day for the incumbent.

Coon Come was forced out of the race when he finished last on the first ballot, attracting the support of only 105 of the record-number of voting delegates-564.

More than 3,000 people crammed the Shaw Convention Centre in Edmonton to watch the chiefs go through the once-every-three-year process of electing their national leader. Fontaine was unseated by Coon Come in Ottawa at the last AFN election in 2000 in Ottawa. The total number of people who attended this year's assembly and the number of voting delegates were both all-time AFN records.

As he did after his victory in 1997 in Vancouver, a jubilant Fontaine took the oath of office surrounded by his campaign team. He smiled broadly as he listened to each regional vice chief pledge to support him when he returns to the AFN's plush ninth floor office at 1 Nicholas Street in Ottawa.

Before he could make his way off the stage to appear live on CBC's The National, he had to take two congratulatory phone calls, one from Prime Minister Jean Chretien and the other from Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault.

Nault also issued a statement immediately after the election was completed. Alistair Mullin, the minister's manager of communications, said the minister "will be issuing an invitation to Chief Fontaine tomorrow to meet as soon as we can to discuss where he intends to lead the AFN, and to see where we can work together."

"I would like to offer my congratulations to Phil Fontaine on his election as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. The assembly has made a clear choice for a new direction," Nault said. "To all the candidates, I also offer my congratulations for their effective and well-fought campaigns. Political life is never easy, and I applaud you for having shown the courage and personal conviction in your decision to run for this key office. I look forward to working with the new national chief and the AFN executive to improve the quality of life in First Nations, and to enhance the economic and social opportunities for their citizens. Together, we can chart a better future for First Nations and for Canada."

After the first ballot, Fontaine appeared disappointed that he hadn't broken the 60 per cent threshold that is required for a candidate to be declared the winner. One of his campaign workers said their polling led them to believe they had enough support to have a shot at what would have been a first-ever first ballot win.

He came up 48 votes short. His 292 votes was worth just below 52 per cent. Jamieson had 167 votes. Fontaine did get more support than the other two combined, but the talk between ballots centred on whether Jamieson could carry all of Coon Come's support and pick up enough of Fontaine's delegates to make a race of it. She needed to attract a mere 10 Fontaine delegates in addition to Coon Come's support to bring the totals back to even.

But it was not to be. The Jamieson team, like many other observers, underestimated the effectiveness of the Fontaine machine. When the numbers were announced for the second ballot, the once and future national chief had five more votes than he needed to bring the election to an end.

"Chiefs, you have spoken," Fontaine said when he addressed the assembly after being officially installed as national chief.

He stressed that unity is required for the AFN to be effective, adding that First Nations people were at "a crucial point in history."

"We have an opportunity to fundamentally change our relationship with Canada," he added. "Soon, we'll have a new Prime Minister. Today, First Natons have a new national chief."

Throughout the campaign, Fontaine was careful to use language that would convince those who felt he was too close to the government that he would stand up for treaty and Aboriginal rights. He acknowledged that he had pledged to be vigilant in defending treaty rights and in fighting to see that First Nations' inherent rights "will be recognized and implemented."

"My mandate from you requires nothing less," he said.

Aware his remarks were being broadcast live across the country, Fontaine spoke directly to the mainstream Canadian public.

"The poverty of First Nations people is an affliction we all share," he said. "It's absurd to focus on the symptoms."

Echoing a concept that marked Coon Come's time in office, he called for First Nations to get a "fair share" of Canada's lands and resources.

"I say to all the resource companies, the wealth you enjoy comes from the wealth of our ancestors," he said.

He promised to get to work right away, pushing for more First Nations control of government institutions and a more direct role in decision making when it comes to matters that affect First Nations' people.

"I say to the other governments of Canada, 'we're back,'", later adding, "To the government of Canada, I say to you, sometimes we will be at each other's throats. Sometimes we will be pulling in the same direction. But we will always be there."

After the final results were announced, Jamieson told the crowd that the implementation committee, a group of chiefs she chairs that has fought and lobbied against Nault's governance legislation, will remain active. She heard Fontaine commit to join the fight against the First Nations governance act and intends to hold him to it.

Fontaine urged the minister to start the process over again, this time working in concert with the AFN and the chiefs.

During a press conference after her defeat, Jamieson was asked by a reporter if she was worried that Fontaine would be too conciliatory in dealig with the government and its present agenda. She noted that Fontaine's public remarks had not sounded very conciliatory at all.

"We'll have to see how conciliatory National Chief Phil Fontaine is because I heard him, we all heard him, say he opposes the governance act. I took note of every commitment the national chief made and I intend to hold him to every one," she said.

Later, in a one-on-one interview with Windspeaker in her campaign room, Jamieson said she felt Fontaine had moderated his views and moved more towards supporting a rights-based agenda.

"I heard a lot more of those kinds of commitments throughout the campaign," she said. "I heard a strong rejection of the governance act and I heard strong support for nationhood."

Asked if she planned on running again in 2006, Jamieson was non-committal. But her campaign co-chair, Larry Sault, left the door open.

"Maybe we'll be back again," the former Mississaugas of the New Credit chief said. "You never know."