Congress of Aboriginal Peoples receives $8.9M from Harper government to attack First Nations
Halt more aboriginal funding until accountability is in place: Group
People can't be helped until it's proven that social programs work, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples charges
Jorge Barrera, January 19, 2008
The federal government should ignore calls for increased aboriginal funding until stronger accountability measures are put in place and clarity emerges on the impact that existing programs have on the lives of grassroots people, says a new report by a national aboriginal organization.
The report, titled Where Does the Money Go?, examined 6,199 federal grants and contributions worth about $5.6 billion to 2,054 recipients from 30 federal departments and agencies for the fiscal year 2006-2007. The 293-page report from the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples drew immediate criticism from the Assembly of First Nations, who called it "long and deeply flawed."
The report concludes that there is currently no way to gauge whether aboriginal funding and programs are improving the lives of people.
It calls on federal departments, provincial and territorial governments, band councils and aboriginal organizations to move from merely accounting for the money spent to proving the programs they receive funding for actually deliver results.
"It is time to stop funding programs, processes, and organizations that cannot demonstrate results for aboriginal people so that valuable resources can be directed to programs and services that actually have a positive impact on aboriginal peoples' lives and well-being," said the CAP report.
The organization's national chief, Patrick Brazeau, said injecting more money into the system will do little to help the current dire situations faced by many aboriginals. He said recent calls for more funding are "premature" given the current environment.
"There is a crisis of confidence surrounding public funding for aboriginal programs and services in Canada today," wrote Mr. Brazeau in the opening pages of the report. "It is presently impossible for anyone, including governments and recipient organizations, to substantiate the amount of money that is required to deliver quality services to all those in need."
Mr. Brazeau said he would like to see the Conservative government introduce a bill similar to the First Nations Governance Act brought in by Jean Chrétien's Liberal government.
Mr. Brazeau said the Conservatives should ignore the chiefs and push through governance legislation because the grassroots people want it.
He also wasn't impressed with Assembly of First Nations national Chief Phil Fontaine asking for more money on the heels of Statistics Canada's aboriginal census that showed the native population growing 3.5 times faster than non-aboriginals.
"I am tired of the same rhetoric from some leaders saying they need more money, the leadership has to be accountable for what they receive," said Mr. Brazeau.
Mr. Brazeau also questioned the amount of money the AFN receives.
According to his organization's report, the AFN received $111 million in grants and contributions from the federal government in 2006-2007. The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples received $8.9 million.
"I look at the inequity in funding and it raises concerns in my mind. That is a lot of money to do political lobbying in Canada," said Mr. Brazeau.
AFN's executive director, Richard Jock said the number was a "fabrication."
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A response from Patrick Brazeau
-----Original Message-----
From: Brazman [mailto:patrickbrazeau@rogers.blackberry.net]
Sent: January 20, 2008 1:38 PM
To: brianbeaton@knet.ca
Subject: KNET Post
Dear Mr. Beaton,
I note that your article, presented with a title that is intended to be inflammatory, did not include a link to the report, which is on CAP's website. In the interest of allowing your readership to decide for themselves what CAP is trying to say, here is a link to the report.
http://www.abo-peoples.org/policy/GC0607_TC_E.html
People who have comments or concerns are welcome to submit them to my blog as well. The report is intended to stimulate discussion and debate. I look forward to hearing directly from KNet readers. The blog is at:
Patrick Brazeau, Chef National Chief
Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
867, St-Laurent Blvd
Ottawa, Ontario CANADA
(613) 747-6022
"Fulfilling your dreams is all about willing to work for them"!