Former PM confident about future of Kelowna accord

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With his private members' bill to revive the Kelowna accord passing first reading in the House of Commons, former Prime Minister Paul Martin is confident that the Kelowna Accord will one day become the law of the land.

Martin spoke about Aboriginal issues on Jan. 17, after spending a day visiting Aboriginal high schools in Winnipeg with Liberal MPs Tina Keeper and Anita Neville.

"I was incredibly encouraged by seeing young Aboriginal people working to make better futures for themselves and their families," Martin said.

However, he added, the day also high-lighted the importance of reviving the Kelowna accord in order to give all Aboriginal communities and indivi-duals a chance at a positive future.

The former Prime Minister introduced a private members bill last June called, An Act to implement the Kelowna Accord, which passed first reading in October by a vote of 159-129.

"The Kelowna accord is a major step forward, not only because they set clear standards in health and education, but it was also not imposed, it was worked out through partnership," Martin said.

"It is that partnership that is so important in terms of giving life to the inherent right of self-government. I feel incredibly strongly that when you have an event of that significance, you do not turn your back on it."

In November 2005, the First Ministers Meeting (FMM) on Aboriginal issues saw Martin, all provincial and territorial premiers and the leaders of the five national Aboriginal organizations sit down together in Kelowna to focus on improving the life of First Nations' people. When the FMM was over, a $5 billion agreement had won the support of all parties. The next week the Liberal government fell and the new Conservative government scrapped the accord.

Martin says the accord was the result of months of negotiations and was just the culmination of a roundtable process that started in April 2004.

"It began 16 to 18 months earlier at a major meeting following a health care meeting with the Aboriginal leadership and the provinces," Martin said. "It was followed up by a series of roundtables across the country, all of which were very public, then a series of negotiations between the three governments: the Aboriginal leadership, the provincial governments and the federal government."

The fact that it was made in partnership sets the Kelowna accord apart, not only from many other Canadian and Aboriginal agreements, but also from the failed First Nations Governance Act initiative.

"In all my discussions with Aboriginal leadership, they believe in good governance, they believe in accountability, and that wasn't their objection. Their objection was on how it was carried out."

Martin questions why the new federal government did not see Kelowna as a foundation to build on. When asked about re-branding the accord, Martin quips that the people of Kelowna, may have something to say about that.

"But the fundamental issue is not what it is called, the fundamental issue is better education, better health care, better housing and cleaner water," he said.

Martin is confident that his private members' bill will pass without the support of the Conservatives. He added that the reason it will pass is because of the hard work of Liberal MPs like Anita Neville and Tina Keeper of North of 60 fame.

"Tina Keeper has really hit the ground running and has had a tremendous affect," Martin said. "She is one of the reasons that I'm very confident that the Kelowna accord will pass."

Now that the bill has passed first reading, it will be sent to committee for review before being brought back to the House for second and third reading and then off to the Senate, where it will undergo a similar process.

Since he lost the election and the position of prime minister, Martin has been saying that he would take up the resolution of Aboriginal issues as a personal cause. To people that question what is in it for him, Martin responds by claiming that it has always een an issue of importance to him.

"I didn't go in to public life for the heck of it," Martin said. "I went into public life because I believe in certain things very strongly, and one of those is that I think Aboriginal Canadians are entitled to exactly the same opportunities as the rest of Canadians, and that this country is wealthy enough to provide that. To do anything else would be immoral."