Ovide's opinion blowin' in the wind

Page 4

Consistency is a wonderful thing.

But when it comes to an opinion on Ottawa's self-government policy, consistency seems to be eluding the grand chief of the assembly of First Nations.

Ovide Mercredi's evaluation of the federal government seems to swing from one extreme to the other without much visible rhyme or reason. When the schedule for negotiations was first announced in January, Mercredi refused to accept self-government unless it was constitutionally enshrined.

Shortly thereafter, he conceded to the government's Section 35 argument if it would help the process along. Now he says Ottawa cannot be trusted if it needs to define self-government before enacting it.

Guaranteeing a good deal for Natives will require someone at the national level to decide on a single formula for self-government and then tell Ottawa what we want, what we need, what it will give us.

The surest way to screw up the process is to continue to waffle back and forth. If the feds can't come up with a solution to the self-government problems, it's only because we haven't got the backbone to stand behind our convictions.

Mercredi would do well to find a single policy and stick to it.