Media.Knet.Ca

Assembly of First Nations Bulletin

A Communiqué from National Chief Phil Fontaine
July 31, 2007

The Assembly of First Nations issues regular updates on the National Chief’s activities and work underway at the national office

More information can be found at www.afn.ca.

28th AFN Annual General Assembly a Huge Success

On July 10-12, 2007 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Assembly of First Nations concluded what many Chiefs in attendance called the most productive and constructive Annual General Assembly ever held.

AFN Regional Chief Rick Simon (Nova Scotia / Newfoundland), along with the Atlantic leadership are to be commended for their outstanding efforts as hosts for our gathering. I want to personally extend a thank you to all who dedicated their time and energy into making the 28th AFN AGA a huge success.

Chiefs are to be congratulated on passing 32 resolutions on a broad range of issues important to First Nations. These resolutions provide the AFN with a strong mandate for the year ahead, setting out concrete and practical plans for our work together on behalf of First Nations citizens.

Some examples of the work approved in resolutions:

• A clear framework for moving forward on the Recognition and Implementation of First Nations Governments that speaks to achieving reconciliation, and supporting it with structural change and sustainable economies. This includes a commitment to coordination and national unity to ensure that all of our activities make progress towards these fundamental objectives.
• An important expression of Chiefs’ intentions for follow-up to the National Day of Action to ensure that we maintain the momentum that has been established through that historic event.
• Strong statements about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, putting an end to racism, support for our Veterans and protecting First Nations rights.
• Excellent strategies for ongoing work in areas such as First Nations languages, health, education, housing, water management, resource revenue sharing, environment, economic development and human resource development.
• Timely direction on key files, such as the development of the new specific claims process, changes to the Fisheries Act, and our ongoing work on behalf of residential school survivors.
• Several expressions of support for regional and local initiatives and the efforts of individuals to improve the lives of First Nations people.
• And direction to continue the AFN’s work on internal renewal.

In all, the Chiefs support for changes to the resolutions process is an obvious commitment to making this process work. As we continue to improve the function of the AFN, we look forward to support from Chiefs for even better results.

Our thanks to all.

AFN Executive Portfolio Changes

At the recent AFN Executive meeting in Halifax, I announced a few changes in portfolios and that a new position of Vice Chair for the AFN Executive Committee would be created. After looking into this, in terms of authority as National Chief and structure of the AFN, I am pleased to announce the appointment of

Regional Chief Rick Simon as the Executive Committee Vice Chair effective immediately. Additional portfolio changes include:

• Regional Chief Bill Erasmus will replace Regional Chief Rick Simon as chairperson for the AFN Finance Committee.
• Regional Chief Ghislain Picard will replace Regional Chief Rick Simon as chairperson for the International file. Regional Chief Wilton Littlechild will co-chair on the International file.
• Regional Chief Rick Simon will co-chair the Economic Development file with Regional Chief Wilton Littlechild remaining as Chairperson for Economic Development.
• Regional Chief Rick Simon will be the sole chairperson for the AFN Renewal Commission as part of the responsibility as Vice Chair for the Executive committee.
• Regional Chief Wilton Littlechild is replacing Regional Chief Rick Simon as a member of the AFN Finance Committee.
• Regional Chief Rick Simon as Vice Chair for the Executive Committee will be ex-officio to all portfolios within the AFN structure which is the same as the National Chief.

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Update

Within weeks, the United Nations General Assembly must make a decision on the long awaited and urgently needed UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The international community will move ahead with final adoption as has been urged by Indigenous peoples and their supporters worldwide, or adoption of the Declaration will once again be delayed due to the demands of a small, yet vocal group of states being lead by Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia.

First Nations communities and citizens are encouraged to write to the president of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Please take this opportunity to support the Declaration.

More than 14,000 individuals and organizations have already signed a global petition hosted by Amnesty International Canada in support of the Declaration.

If you haven't already done so, please add your name and encourage many others to do so.

The petition, in English and French, can be found at:

http://www.amnesty.ca/ip_un_petition/UN_indigenous_rights_petition.php (English)

Meegwetch!

Assembly of First Nations, 473 Albert Street, Suite 810, Ottawa, Ontario K1R5B4 Tel: (613) 241-6789 Toll-free: 1-866-869-6789 Fax: (613) 241-5808 www.afn.ca

+++++++++++++

The Aboriginal Committee's International Spectre
The Hill Times - Embassy, August 1st, 2007 - EDITORIAL

There was really no good reason for the Conservatives on the aboriginal affairs committee to come to Parliament Hill last week, unless they thought the opposition members wouldn't show up. Or maybe their presence had more to do with something else: the looming possibility that Canada is facing some embarrassment at the UN because of the Harper government's stand on a declaration that affects 375 million of the world's indigenous peoples–and their non-indigenous neighbours.

In any case, the unexpected appearance of the aboriginal affairs committee for a hasty vote on Bill C-44 was a mid-summer puzzle.

The three Tory committee members and the chair who called the meeting for the purpose of having a vote on Bill C-44 must have known that the vote would fail. More than a month ago, a majority of members from the same committee voted to put forward a motion to suspend committee meetings while it consulted with Canada's aboriginal communities over the bill's impact, though the House must still give its assent. They did this not because they were stalling or playing politics, but because Canada's aboriginal leaders, who are uneasy about the bill, asked them to.

So last week's vote, to no one's surprise, nullified the purpose of the unscheduled summer recess meeting. The result: Conservatives four to Opposition seven. Why did the government bother?

First, there's the problem of Bill C-44 itself and the ongoing debate over the way individual rights can sometimes undermine broader collective rights. And then there's the gathering storm over an international issue on which the Harper government is taking a lot of criticism, but not offering much of a defence for its actions.

Bill C-44 seeks to apply Canada's Trudeau-era human rights laws to Canada's native communities. On the surface that seems like a good thing. But aboriginal leaders have repeatedly told the committee they are worried about the way the Charter's individual rights will work in communities that are structured around traditional, collective rights.

"In a bid to push ahead with this legislation, the Conservatives have stated that the bill will help individuals seek redress against band councils. This portrays the band councils as corrupt and engaging in bully tactics, and plays into the perception among Conservatives that the councils oppress their people," wrote Cree author and columnist Doug Cuthand in The Saskatoon Star Phoenix last Friday.

For all of the noise it made, last week's committee appearance failed on two counts. It failed to change the committee's position on consultation. And it failed–if that was its intent–to run some kind of interference for the problem the Harper government is facing at the United Nations. If anything, it brought the UN problem to the foreground by causing people who attended the committee meeting to wonder if the issues were linked.

The temperature has been rising lately over Canada's refusal to sign the UN's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Paul Martin government had put some effort into drafting the declaration, which has been accepted by most of the world's nations, with a few notable exceptions. But those exceptions are formidable.

The Harper government now sides with the U.S., Russia, Australia and New Zealand in opposing the declaration. Many observers now see Canada as playing a prominent obstructionist role while turning a deaf ear to aboriginal leaders from around the world who have been pleading for the declaration.

The declaration's friends, including a long list of aboriginal organizations and NGOs like Amnesty International, admit that the declaration is only aspirational. But they say the government of Canada is now creating the perception that it no longer aspires to enhance the lives of some of the world's–and Canada's–poorest people.

So far the Harper government has been surprisingly inarticulate at home about its reasons for rejecting the declaration. The government's friends would like to believe it is stalling the declaration, along with its coalition of unwilling partners, because it has identified flaws that need to be ironed out for the benefit of both indigenous and non-indigenous people.

Those who are suspicious of Mr. Harper are more apt to believe he and his UN partners are objecting to the declaration for less-palatable reasons.

In any event, it is time that Canada's own indigenous people be officially consulted about Bill C-44. And it is time that the Harper government make it clear to Canadians what parts of the UN declaration it finds unacceptable and what it proposes to do about them.

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Bill C-44 may not be political problems for the Harper government on the scale of Afghanistan. But stunts like the summer recall of the aboriginal affairs committee make us think someone in government is rather worried about these issues.