Government must be more accountable to First Nations: MP
BY SIMMONS, GARRETT ON JULY 4, 2014.
Liberal Aboriginal Affairs critic Carolyn Bennett speaks during a town hall meeting Thursday at the Sik-Ooh-Kotoki Friendship Centre. Herald photo by Ian MartensGarrett Simmons
lethbridge herald
On reserves across Canada there is one word which keeps cropping up – accountability.
Members of the Blood Tribe brought up that word again and again Thursday afternoon at a town hall at the Sik-Ooh-Kotoki Friendship Centre, hosted by MP and Liberal Aboriginal Affairs critic Carolyn Bennett.
She ripped into the Conservative government for what Bennett called a refusal co-operate with First Nations peoples on treaty issues, saying there are simply too many cases going to court.
“Of all the government money spent on lawyers, over half of that is spent on aboriginal issues,” said Bennett. “It’s unconscionable that we are spending that kind of money.”
A federal government more accountable to the First Nations people it serves is necessary, she added.
“This has to be all about a new way of doing business.”
Kevin Seesequasis, from the Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation in Saskatchewan, and co-chair of the Liberal party’s Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission, who hosted the event along with Bennett, said the federal government’s see-you-in-court attitude is to blame for many of the problems.
“That mentality has to change,” he said, adding once the government commits itself to defending treaty rights, that’s when the relationship with First Nations people will improve.
But according to many who participated in the town hall, relationships also must be repaired on the reserves themselves. Many spoke about corruption on the Blood Reserve, and what they perceived about the lack of transparency when it comes to finances and how farmland is being managed.
Bennett said there has been talk about an auditor general position being created for First Nations communities, while Seesequasis mentioned change must come from within.
“At the end of the day, it boils down to us as band councils and the types of leaders we elect,” he said, adding those on reserves need to educate themselves, and their children, about politics. “It’s important as First Nations people we accept responsibility for that as well.”
Seesequasis said that process involves voting for the right candidates.
“In First Nations politics we see a lot of, ‘That’s my uncle, that’s my cousin, and I’m going to vote for them,’ and we see the results of that,” he said, mentioning voting intelligently for candidates with integrity is crucial. “Just because your relatives are running, it doesn’t mean they’re suited for the job.”
For that system to work, Bennett said those on reserves need to take an active role in politics.
“Great people need to run in these elections and then we need great people to vote them in or vote them out.”
In terms of financial matters on the reserve, Seesequasis said members can request audits from Aboriginal Affairs, or file an access-to-information request, which band councils are required by law to provide.
Bennett was meeting later Thursday with Blood Tribe councillor Franklyn White Quills for a tour, and said she would raise concerns voiced at the town hall to the elected official. She also pledged to take up the tribe’s governance issues with Assembly of First Nations regional chief Jody Wilson-Raybould, which included concerns addressed at the town hall about the behaviour of some of its leaders and a petition circulating to oust the current chief and council.
“Obviously, the issues of governance and democracy is very complex, and I am very keen to pursue this with Jody. It’s important for me to take what I’ve heard and make sure they know they’ve been heard,” she said, and added it will take time to make the necessary changes to the system. “None of us have a magic wand, and we can’t fix this overnight.”