----- Original Message -----
From: Russell Diabo
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;@...
Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 6:25 AM
Subject: GLOBE & MAIL: Assembly of First Nations Accountability at stake


Assembly of First Nations Accountability at stake
From Friday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Friday, Jul. 10, 2009 02:51AM EDT

Canada's aboriginal leaders have repeatedly resisted attempts by the federal
government to impose greater accountability on native governance. Such efforts
are paternalistic and unnecessary, they contend; the Assembly of First Nations
is more than capable of managing its own affairs. But the manner in which the
AFN is regulating the election of its top national official suggests that it has
yet to embrace transparency measures that most Canadians take for granted in
their governments.

The AFN need not adopt the extremely rigid limits for campaign donations that
have been introduced for federal elections. But it is unthinkable that, in 2009,
the candidates to serve as national chief are under no obligation to publicly
disclose where their campaign funds are coming from. Nor, it appears, do the
five contenders for the job feel inclined to voluntarily reveal their
contributors. When asked recently by The Globe, one declined outright; two
released general information, but did not name the donors; and two replied that
they had not raised much money, and would post donation information on their
websites at some point in the future.

Although only the chiefs of reserves are eligible to vote for the AFN's national
leader, this lack of information is a disservice to all aboriginals. The AFN
carries great influence with the federal government, and the positions of its
national chief - particularly on issues related to natural resources - are of
great interest to certain corners of the public sector. Two of the candidates
say they recently declined donations from resource companies - one of them
reportedly worth $35,000, the total amount each candidate is permitted to spend.
AFN members need to know that none of the would-be chiefs is unduly beholden to
outside interests.

Previous federal attempts to make native leaders more accountable, including the
abandoned First Nations Governance Act, did not address the election of national
chiefs; they were more focused on reserves. But if these are the standards
nationally, one can only imagine how elections are run at the band level. There
are many hopeful signs in the current campaign, most notably a focus on economic
development and less posturing against the federal government than was the case
in previous races. But there remains an obvious deficiency in the standards to
which native leaders are held.

Marcel Balfour, the chief of Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba, has said that
he will put forward more transparent disclosure rules at this month's AFN
convention. The candidates for national chief would considerably enhance their
own credibility by endorsing his call. In doing so, they would signal a
recognition of the continued need for an attitudinal shift among native leaders
on matters of accountability.


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