What role will the bureaucracy play?

Page 17

GUEST COLUMN

Prime Minister Paul Martin, in his opening statement to the Canada-Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable (April 19, 2004), is right when he says "We should not underestimate how much work we have to do, nor should we pretend that it will always be easy."

This statement contains an important key for failure or success. Notwithstanding Paul Martin's commitment to "clear goal(s)," "political will" and a "concrete plan," someone has to do the work and that mostly falls on the shoulders of the federal civil service, including the newly created Secretariat on Aboriginal Affairs in the Privy Council Office.

The prime minister's mandate letters to his ministers, I'm sure, contain clear and unequivocal direction to each of them to work with Aboriginal people in partnership and to discuss policy initiatives in advance of implementation. This is important for the success of the prime minister's strategy. But how will the prime minister hold his ministers accountable for their mandates?

Equally important is the fact his office appoints each of the deputy ministers. Their job is to "operationalize" government policy, and with it comes a fair degree of discretion. But, when it comes to the prime minister's statements, what is their mandate? How will they exercise their discretion? After all, the bureaucracy knows that ministers come and go, but they continue. When will the "end run" begin? Who will hold the bureaucracy accountable?

It is a truism among First Nations that two government departments-Indian Affairs and Justice-hold the most hostility towards and the greatest resentment from First Nations people. The reasons are simply too vast to list, but one example should suffice.

In the recent hearings in the Tlingit and Haida cases before the Supreme Court of Canada, federal government lawyers, siding with the attorneys general from the provinces and with industry lawyers, premised all of their arguments on one fundamental policy position-the continued denial of the existence of Aboriginal rights, Aboriginal title and Aboriginal peoples. Listening to their arguments, you would think that Canada's Constitutional provisions and promises to "recognize and affirm" Aboriginal and treaty rights did not exist.

This is where the "political will" of the prime minister and the "bureaucratic will" of the departments of Justice and Indian Affairs become strangers to each other. Asking Indian Affairs or Justice officials to "find creative solutions to obstacles" is an oxymoron. They simply resort to their tried and tested solutions based on denial of Aboriginal and treaty rights. Just ask any treaty Indian anywhere in Canada or even those who have recently concluded treaties or adhesions and who are trying to implement them.

Having said that, I do commend the prime minister for the strength and direction of his political commitments and resolve. It is important to have clear goals, political will and a concrete plan. In British Columbia there is a great clamor within the ranks of the provincial and municipal governments and the oil and gas industry for the potential wealth the offshore holds. Will the prime minister's "principle of collaboration" with First Nations in coastal British Columbia be "true partners" with Canada? Only time will tell.

There are realities and practical everyday issues people in our communities have to face and deal with. The prime minister rightly identifies many of them.

I recently attended a community session for our people where one of the participants had a clear message for us all. He said, "I'm a logger, but I have also been in jail. I have no work now. I get $185 a month on welfare with which I have to feed, clothe and shelter myself. But the government will gladly pay $50,000 a year to keep me in jail."

The prime minister's challenge for Aboriginal people to work and pull together is a fair one.

Capacity and resource issues are real. We know federal transfers to andfor Aboriginal peoples are limited and we need to make strategic uses of them. A greater emphasis on supporting personal, family and community development is important. Less, but strategic, use of and reliance on outside consultants and expertise is critical. This reliance only fosters dependence and continued underdevelopment of the skills of our young people and of our communities overall.

Institutions (fiscal, taxation, lands management, languages and governance) we collaboratively establish must support our people, families and communities' development efforts. And they must be accountable, not only to the federal government, but to our communities as well. Invest heavily in our children early on and support their development. In time they will begin to break the cycles of dependence and poverty.

The prime minister's commitment that meaningful and measurable goals must be arrived at jointly is critical for measurable progress-the operative word being jointly. Solutions hatched in isolation and unilaterally in far away places usually end up being misguided and self-serving. We can make real improvements in our peoples' lives and living conditions. But it needs our genuine input and involvement at the political, policy and operational levels. The prime minister has put an important challenge in front of us and we must meet it head on. Then, in 10 years, we can reflect to measure our progress.