Political maneuvering begun

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Finance Minister Paul Martin won't give his much-anticipated budget speech until February but the political maneuvering has already begun in every corner of Ottawa and around the country.

In the budget, Martin is expected to announce details of how the Liberal government plans to distribute a $100 billion fiscal surplus. Staff members in every ministry and every interest group in the nation's capital are scrambling to put their pet projects front and centre as the finance minister makes his final decisions.

In the previous budget, then Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart (since shuffled off to Human Resources Development) was able to convince Martin to set aside more than $500 million for Indian Affairs programming. At that time she credited Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Phil Fontaine for effectively lobbying cabinet ministers and persuading them the money was needed.

In what may have been a pre-emptive strike against a repeat of that success, the Globe and Mail published a front-page story in early November that stated it would cost the federal government $200 billion "to give Natives all that they're asking for." Fontaine labeled the language used in the article as an attack on First Nations interests.

The use of those particular words creates the impression that Aboriginal people with claims for compensation for sexual and physical abuse in government-run residential schools (an estimate of the cost of settling some 2,000 or more such cases was included in the $200 billion figure) were asking for a handout.

A more accurate description of that process might have included the fact that these victims have a legal entitlement to compensation. This compensation has nothing to do with their race (except for the fact that it was their race that exposed them to the abusive situations in the first place) or the budget of the Department of Indian Affairs, many Native leaders noted upon reading the story.

During a Nov. 18 phone interview, Fontaine said he and his media relations advisors had been in touch with several mainstream publications to set the record straight.

"We think there's a concerted attack against First Nations interests," he said. "That is being expressed in different ways. One of them, of course, is the story about the $200 billion package. The article said 'to give Indians all that they're asking for.' There are other stories that talk about all of the monies that are being wasted on Aboriginal economic development initiatives. It's reflected in the Calgary Herald story about the extra billion dollars that First Nations receive and yet First Nations are getting further and further into debt and there are more and more First Nation communities in deficit positions."

Fontaine and three staff members met with the editorial board of the Ottawa Citizen on Nov. 17.

"This is a gathering that has been a long time in coming. The reason we had asked to meet with the editorial board was our very serious concern that the editors of the Citizen, together with all the papers that are owned by Conrad Black, had undertaken a concerted attack against First Nations people. They've done so by concentrating on the most negative aspects of . . . or the most negative situations in our communities. Whether the story was true or not, it didn't seem to matter to the Calgary Herald, the National Post or the Citizen. They ran these stories without factual information in many situations, or, where they had facts, they misrepresented these facts. So we took advantage of yesterday's meeting as an opportunity to try and counter some of the myths and misconceptions that are held by journalists, especially those that work for Southam News," he said. "We feel pretty good about the exchange. There was an acknowledgment on their part that they've been wrong in the past and they will accept the offer that we've extended to them that they can call us anytime to check out their facts."

Fontaine then extended the same offer to th Aboriginal press, creating a long moment of uneasy silence among the half-dozen reporters involved in the conference call press conference, many of whom have had many requests for information rejected or ignored by AFN staff or First Nations officials.

"I would hope that the kind of commitment that we secured from the Ottawa Citizen will be forthcoming from you people. You have a particularly major responsibility resting on your shoulders and we really want to be able to co-operate with you to the fullest extent possible. We accept our responsibility that public education, public information is . . . indeed an obligation. And we want to be able to do that right. Communications is one of our mandates. It's a very big priority with the AFN and in order to meet expectations we need to work closely together," he said.

Fontaine said it's time to remove the stereotypes and pre-conceptions from coverage of First Nations politics. He noted that public governments may have debt situations that make First Nations seem exceptionally responsible but reporters in the mainstream press don't write stories that suggest Canadians aren't fit to govern themselves, a common theme in critical stories about Native governments.

"When people talk about the debt of First Nation governments and the fact that you have more First Nations that have third party management. You can bring forth those kinds of criticisms but they have to be balanced, in my view," he said. "I mean, Canada has a debt of $550 billion. This is the federal Crown."

While making these points and trying to quell what he sees as unfair coverage of his attempts to gain increased funding for First Nations and Aboriginal programming, Fontaine also revealed he is discussing several new ideas with Cabinet ministers. He said he will try to convince the finance minister that outstanding land claim settlements should be included in any calculation of Canada's debt. This strategy, if Martin buys into it, could mean that a significnt chunk of the $100 billion surplus that is ear-marked for debt reduction would be destined for settling land claims.

"We've argued that part of Canada's debt includes the many outstanding liabilities related to land, whether we're talking about comprehensive land claims or specific claims," he said.

Fontaine said he is lobbying to change the way monies are allocated to First Nations. The AFN has taken Corbiere, a court decision that first seemed to be critical of its member chiefs for excluding off-reserve members from band elections, and used it to develop an argument that First Nations need to control all funding for Native people.

"Once people participate in an electoral process, in this case the First Nations electoral process, there's an expectation that their governments will be responsible for them in terms of delivering services and programs," he said. "So, we see Corbiere as being more than about the right to vote in band elections. It's about their government and how their governments represent their interests regardless of residency. It's one of the major items in the upcoming Confederacy meeting on Dec. 7, 8 and 9 here in Ottawa. We're really talking about a new fiscal relationship so that our governments are in a position to receive transfer payments that now go to the provinces without any references to First Nations people. We're talking about a significant transfer here because it's a per capita transfer. I don't think we're necessarily talking about more money, we're talking about a more efficient use of money meaning it ought to be directed to First Nations so that we can actually deliver programs and services to our people regardless of residency."

The national chief confirmed that he and his staff see the upcoming budget as a crucial next step in advancing the First Nation cause. It would also be a huge gain for First Nations governments, which typically collect a 10 per cent administration fee from all funding allocations received.

"We've ben making the rounds here in town. We're working the room, as they say. We've met with the minister of finance, the prime minister's office, we've met with various ministers. I just spoke to the deputy ministers of the federal government last week," he said. "I just spoke to the Conference Board of Canada, a number of CEOs from major corporations in Canada. We're trying to get support from different sectors: private, government, other interest groups. There are others that are supporting our propositions, including the Royal Bank, who met with the minister of finance and suggested to the minister that the federal government has to deal with the Aboriginal issue because, as the report from the Royal Bank said, the cost of doing nothing is significant."

Fontaine said the government decision makers need to be shown that First Nations are on the right track before significant gains can be made. He believes he has the ammunition to meet that objective.

"What we need to do, you see, because these people here in the centre, the people who make the decisions - Finance, Treasury Board, PCO (Privy Council Office) - the questions they ask us are 'What value are we getting for the money that we've allocated for First Nations? Are you going to come back to us in 10 years with the same story if we give you what you're asking for?'" he said.

"Of course, the fact is what we're seeking is a fair allocation of government resources including the projected $95- to $100 billion surplus. It is easier to sell or market our position if we can talk not only about all of the impediments - the housing crisis or the health crisis or the terrible job situation or the infrastructure problems that result in 80 per cent leakage . . . of the $7 billion that's allocated for First Nations or Aboriginal people, there's 80 per cent leakage. That means all of the goods and services that need to be purchased in First Nations communities are purchased on the outside. We should be talking about how, in sp