----- Original Message -----
From: RUSSELL DIABO
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 3:16 PM
Subject: Native frustration builds as urgent needs put on fiscal back burner
February 28, 2005 - 17:38
Native frustration builds as urgent needs put on fiscal back burner
SUE BAILEY
OTTAWA (CP) - Patience and hope are fading after the Liberals all but
forgot dire aboriginal needs in the latest federal budget, native leaders say.
Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), is openly
questioning whether Prime Minister Paul Martin will back up earnest talk with
action.
"We've received some very bold commitments that have heightened
expectations," Fontaine, who is known for his conciliatory approach, said in an
interview.
"But clearly we're not a popular cause," he added with some bitterness.
"We don't score well when Canadians are surveyed in terms of priorities."
Chiefs must also battle the impression, created by isolated cases of
fraud, that more than $7 billion spent on native programs each year is widely
misused.
Native leaders say much of that cash is eaten up by federal bureaucracies
before it reaches cash-strapped reserves.
Skepticism about the effectiveness of the billions committed to
aboriginals annually may explain why the minority Liberals committed relatively
meagre sums in the budget to ease living conditions that the government has
called "shameful."
Promises over five years total $735 million to ease a housing crisis,
bridge stark education gaps, fund early learning programs and provide for a
healing fund for survivors of residential school abuse.
That amount was dwarfed by the billions of dollars pledged for the
military, child care, the environment and a host of other causes.
Unlike his tough-talking predecessor, Matthew Coon Come, Fontaine has
taken pains to build political bridges.
Results have been mixed. Two straight federal budgets have put native
issues on the fiscal back burner.
Last fall the federal government committed $700 million over five years
to lift lagging aboriginal health standards, but chiefs are still waiting for
details on how it's to be spent.
Last week's budget effectively tells Canada's poorest to keep waiting
even as Ottawa racks up a budget surplus of almost $9 billion, Fontaine said.
Patience is being tested on reserves across the country.
"Getting a profile in the media on a constant basis is what we need,"
says Chief Judith Sayers of the Hupacasath First Nation near Port Alberni, B.C.
"I haven't seen Phil doing that. I like Phil, and I know he works hard.
But he needs to push more, I think."
All eyes will now be on next fall's planned summit of aboriginal leaders
and premiers, says John Beaucage, grand chief of the Union of Ontario Indians
representing 42 First Nations.
Pent-up demands are building, he said. New housing funds worth $295
million over five years won't be nearly enough to meet the demands of a
fast-growing native population, he added.
"I think life will get tougher for the AFN, and life will get tougher for
the federal government. Because at some point, when you have families that live
in substandard conditions - almost squalor - what do they have to lose by
creating a political statement in some form or other?
"At some point, some of our young leaders are going to become very
dissatisfied and disillusioned."
In its defence, the federal government is continuing talks with native
leaders to set funding priorities on everything from education to economic
development.
But many chiefs haven't been included, Sayers said.
She recently met with 14 British Columbia tribal council leaders.
"We all feel the same way: Something is happening in Ottawa that
priorities are being set on, and we haven't had a say. We haven't even been
asked. We haven't been involved in any way."
Copyright by Rogers Media Inc.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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