C-7 gets ugly
OTTAWA – The continuing battle between the Minister of Indian Affairs Robert Nault and the Assembly of First Nations continued to degenerate on July 3 with a newspaper report stating that the Minister has been spying on the Assembly of First Nations.
The Winnipeg Free Press found incriminating internal INAC documents, through the Canadian version of the Freedom of Information Act, stating the INAC Minister Nault had used “intelligence gathering” and “undercover agents” to monitor the activities of the AFN and its opposition to the First Nations Governance Act (Bill C-7).
One instance of this surveillance was the C-7 protest in Nault’s home riding of Kenora on May 15 when an operative is reported to have sent “nervous” e-mails over the size of the protest and the lack of a strong police presence along the protest route.
The article also said there were concerns for Nault’s personal safety.
AFN National Chief Matthew Coon Come issued a strongly worded statement condemning Nault for “spying” on his organization.
“The Minister of Indian Affairs has a duty as an agent of the Crown to act in the best interests of the First Nations and yet here he is using the power of his office to spy on us,” said Coon Come. “The Minister is using taxpayers dollars to spy on us and at the same time is slashing our budget and seriously limiting our ability to communicate with our own people.
“Frankly, First Nations have nothing to learn about democracy from this Minister.”
The National Chief also referred to Nault as a rogue minister and called upon Prime Minister Jean Chretien to remove him from office.
According to comments made by the AFN communications office to Indian Country Today Nault has made no public comment on the most recent dispute, however, ICT was able to reach the Minister’s office for a reaction.
Spokesman Alistair Mullin told ICT the Winnipeg Free Press article was taken completely out of context and that it was intentionally written in a tongue-in-cheek manner because the AFN is using the same tactics and strategy against INAC over C-7.
“Allegations that we were spying on the AFN are ludicrous,” said Mullin. “The events were all held in public places and were invited to all of them by the National Chief or they were held in places like Parliament Hill where I couldn’t have walked out of my office for lunch without being right in the middle of a demonstration.
“Yes, we monitor the media and have a clip service, that is provided to the AFN on a regular basis, and even have the same company advising us on our communication strategies.”
Mullin expressed concern on behalf of the Minister that using terms like intelligence gathering may have been a poor choice of words by reporter Paul Symn. Mullin even provided ICT with the transcript of a follow-up discussion with the members of the Winnipeg Free Press editorial board who said the matter had quickly become exaggerated and the article misunderstood.
Mi’kmaqs plan lawsuit
ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland – Newfoundland remained an independent British colony until it joined Canada in 1949, but many of the provinces’ First Nations people have said they were left out of the deal and denied Indian status.
The Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada said Aboriginal people on the island were left out of the Terms of Union in 1949 preventing Ottawa from fulfilling its obligations to these Mi’kmaqs.
“We are forgotten people, but we are not going away,” said co-claimant Bert Alexander.
One band of Mi’kmaqs, the Innu and the Inuit people of Newfoundland have previously received federal recognition and been granted legal status under the Indian Act.
The class-action lawsuit filed on July 3 seeks compensation for approximately 20,000 members of the provinces’ Mi’kmaq First Nation for being denied access to Aboriginal programs and services. According to a report from the Canadian Press, the lawsuit is also seeking reserve lands for bands that want it.
The Ministry of Indian Affairs has not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit.
Nault maligns Native lobby group
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan – Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault vilified the Assembly of First Nations on June 25 in a meeting with the editorial board of the Saskatoon-Star-Phoenix.
“The AFN is structurally incapable of working with the government, at least the way it is organized now,” said Nault in the editorial board meeting. “Matter of fact, most chiefs will tell you that’s why they don’t go to AFN assemblies because they say it has no role to play.
“The AFN was created a long time ago. And time has moved on, past it.”
The Star-Phoenix meeting has become widely publicized in Canada as the AFN approaches its general assembly in Edmonton in July where a new National Chief will be elected.
AFN National Chief Matthew Coon Come said the Nault’s words were both surprising because of their “disrespectful and dismissive nature” but because they were contrary to comments he made to the organization only a week earlier praising its positive contributions to the First Nations.
Coon Come made a reference to the origin of the AFN, formerly called the National Indian Brotherhood, which was to mobilize First Nations opposition to the 1969 White Paper that many thought would bring an end to treaty rights and the special status of Canada’s indigenous peoples and the AFN’s continued advocacy for Natives.
Coon Come said the United Nations Economic and Social Council has recognized the AFN as representative organization and granted it Special Consultative Status allowing it to have official delegates at the world body, as proof of its continuing effectiveness.
The Indian Affairs Minister in 1969 in the cabinet of the late Pierre Trudeau was none other than the current Prime Minister Jean Chr?tien. Many pundits in Ottawa have said The First Nations Governance Act (Bill C-7), opposed by the AFN, was intended to be the bookend of Chr?tien’s 40-year career and as a matter of satisfaction for his earlier defeats in Indian policy.
Mounties get their man
OTTAWA – A senior Health Canada official that managed the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch was arrested on fraud charges on July 4 following a 30-month investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a government-ordered audit of an addiction treatment center.
The Ottawa bureau of the Globe and Mail reported Paul Cochrane, 56, of Kanata, Ontario was charged with seven counts of fraud against the government and one charge of breach of trust.
The charges stem from the improper management of the Virginia Fontaine Addictions Foundation in Manitoba and the “improper documentation” of $1.6 million in spending. Center funds were used for a cruise for 70 Fontaine staff members and payments to companies owned by family members of center managers in the amount of $1.2 million over an 18 month period.
In addition, Cochrane is accused of accepting bribes in the form of cruises and NHL hockey tickets to send outside business to the center.
The government-ordered audit also found the clinic had illegally paid for personal trips to Las Vegas, Hawaii and Mexico.
Cochrane resigned from his position months after the investigation began.
Aboriginal business gets boost from Ottawa
BEAVER LAKE, Nunavut – The Government of Canada announced the contribution of $300,000 to an Aboriginal-owned tourism business on July 8.
The recipient of the grant is Nunamiut Company Ltd., which operates Beaver Lake Cultural Tours and Resorts. The investment will allow the company to expand existing meeting facilities and accommodations at its Beaver Lake resorts.
“Tourism initiatives are important components of economic development,” said Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Robert Nault. “This investment will help strengthen Nunavut’s economy and improve the quality of life of the Inuit people.”
INAC is supporting the project through the Opportunity Fund, a program that supports Inuit business start-ups and expansion.
Currently, Nunamiut is the only company that offers year-round resort accommodations at Beaver Lake.
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