And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (S.I.S.I.S.) writes:
NATIVE GROUP ASKS OTTAWA TO DOUBLE ITS FUNDING - AFN not relevant: Reform
National Post, June 17, 1999, by Stewart Bell
[S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased
or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context.
It is provided for reference only.]
The Assembly of First Nations wants the federal government to more than
double its funding to almost $40-million, documents indicate. The AFN's
proposed budget calls for $39.4-million in spending this fiscal year,
including $8.7-million for staffing and $6.2-million for preservation of
aboriginal languages. A copy was leaked to the Reform party.
The group's budget was $18-million last year. Although the fiscal year has
already begun, the budget is still being negotiated by the AFN and federal
government officials. The AFN has signed an agreement with the Indian
Affairs Department that allocates $19-million to the group, but the
assembly is continuing to lobby for more and fears it will have to make
cuts if it doesn't get it.
Under the proposal, most of the money -- $30-million -- would come from
Indian Affairs, with the rest supplied by Health, Justice, Fisheries,
Foreign Affairs, Human Resources, International Development and Heritage.
The AFN acknowledged the budget was a "wish list," and said it would be
surprised to get what it asked for. It says it needs extra resources
because Ottawa is asking it to take on new responsibilities stemming from
the report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
Reform says the AFN shouldn't get more. "I'd have to question whether most
aboriginal people in Canadatoday would find the AFN very relevant," said
Mike Scott, Reform's aboriginal affairs critic, who obtained the budget.
"Certainly a lot of the people I've talked to in the last year-and-a-half
don't believe that's the case, and question whether the AFN is really
representing their views and their interests. So it's difficult for me to
understand why the federal government would be contemplating doubling their
budget."
An Indian Affairs official said the budget was already set as far as he was
concerned, although other federal departments may still be negotiating
their contributions. "We have a signed agreement with the AFN," said Don
Cooke, director-general of service improvement.
The AFN represents Canada's 633 Indian bands, who elect a national chief as
well as vice-chiefs from each region.
The budget proposal is a bold step for the group, which only two years ago
was politically irrelevant, $1.6-million in debt and facing the loss of its
funding because it would not fully open its books to federal auditors. But
since the departure of Ovide Mercredi -- who oversaw the AFN at a time it
was ignored, marginalized and increasingly radical, calling for highway
blockades across the nation -- the group has been trying to recover.
Shortly after Jane Stewart took over as Indian Affairs minister in 1997,
Phil Fontaine was elected AFN grand chief, paving the way for better
relations with the government. The thaw in relations has apparently given
the AFN the confidence to ask for a hefty funding increase. The draft
budget proposes $20-million in base funding for categories such as
"executive committee" ($2.4-million), administration ($1.9-million), land
rights ($1.8-million) and communications ($1.8-million).
The largest single budget item is the $4-million for "LTS," an acronym for
Lands and Trust Services, while the second-biggest is $3.6-million for
"fiscal relations." Some of the budget items are difficult to comprehend. A
category labeled "eagle closure" is budgeted for $400,000 while $270,000 is
marked simply "international."
Part of the budget will pay for Mr. Fontaine's salary, which last year
jumped to $125,000 from $85,000.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed
a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2
EMAIL : <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html
SOVERNET-L is a news-only listserv concerned with indigenous
sovereigntist struggles around the world. To subscribe, send
"subscribe sovernet-l" in the body of an email message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For more information on sovernet-l, contact S.I.S.I.S.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
