US embassy cable - 03OTTAWA2120

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 002120 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR PLEASE PASS TO BUREAU OF INDIAN 
AFFAIRS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, CA 
SUBJECT:  CANADA'S FIRST NATIONS ELECT A NEW GRAND CHIEF; 
PATH OPEN FOR A RENEWED DIALOGUE WITH OTTAWA 
 
1.  Summary:  Canada's Assembly of First Nations (AFN) met 
for their 24th annual meeting on July 15-17 and elected Phil 
Fontaine to a three-year term as National Grand Chief. 
Chief Fontaine, a self-described conciliator, brings a less 
confrontational style than his predecessor, Matthew Coon 
Come, to First Nation relations with the federal government. 
He is, however, on record as opposing the First Nations 
Governance Act, one of three First Nations bills currently 
under consideration by Parliament.  Some politicians, and 
even some aboriginals themselves, have recently questioned 
whether the AFN adequately represents aboriginal people to 
the government of Canada (GOC).  The election of a more 
conciliatory Grand Chief, and the prospect of a new Prime 
Minister, who may be more willing to listen to the concerns 
of the AFN, will augur for an improved dialogue between 
Ottawa and the First Nations. End Summary 
 
2.  Canada's Assembly of First Nations (AFN) met for their 
24th General Assembly July 15-17.  Phil Fontaine defeated 
incumbent Matthew Coon Come to reassume, after a three-year 
interim, the position of National Grand Chief.  The AFN, 
viewed by its members as a type of parliamentary gathering, 
is comprised of the 633 First Nation chiefs, each of whom 
represent a tribe or band.  It is comprised of status First 
Nation chiefs, who represent some 650,000 - 700,000 "status" 
natives, but critics claim it represents the chiefs 
themselves (some of whose positions are hereditary) more 
than the First Nation rank and file.  The GOC does not 
recognize the First Nations as a separate nation, but rather 
as another "order of government" like the provinces.  Order 
of government is used instead of level of government (which 
refers to provinces and municipalities) in order to avoid a 
connotation of hierarchy. 
 
3.  In the past, Minister Robert Nault of the Department of 
Indian Affairs described the AFN as ineffective and 
irrelevant, and "structurally incapable of working with the 
government."  Many observers describe the AFN as more as a 
lobby group than an effective legislative body, and in the 
campaign Fontaine rued the fact that the AFN had been 
"marginalized" and had been made of "little or no 
consequence to Ottawa."  Dwindling attendance at the annual 
meetings has become a problem, as it is becoming a problem 
for the Assembly, as the rank-and-file perceived they were 
no longer being represented. 
 
4.  Three candidates ran for the position Grand National 
Chief:  Roberta Jamieson (a lawyer and First Nation civil 
rights advocate), Matthew Coon Come (the incumbent Grand 
Chief), and Phil Fontaine, who had served as Grand Chief 
prior to the election of Coon Come in 2000.  Mr. Coon Come, 
whose confrontational negotiating style was said to have 
repeatedly alienated federal officials, was dropped after 
the first ballot when he only earned 18 percent of the vote. 
Fontaine won the election in the second round with 292 of 
550 votes, edging out Ms. Jamieson, who had positioned 
herself midway between her two rivals.  Phil Fontaine 
campaigned on the promise to work with the government, 
instead of alienating it with "noisy rhetoric," but has 
declared his opposition to the First Nations Governance Act, 
Bill C-7, which is an important piece of legislation 
currently before Parliament.  Our contacts in the Department 
of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) are 
complimentary regarding Mr. Fontaine's abilities, but say it 
is premature to comment on how his election would affect the 
substance of GOC-AFN relations, particularly regarding the 
possible passage and implementation of C-7. 
 
5.  Minister for Indian Affairs Nault introduced the First 
Nations Governance Initiative in 2001 as a way to modernize 
the Indian Act of 1867, and provide first nations people 
with better governance.  It is meant to make native 
leadership more accountable, and to open up the voting 
process to aboriginals living off of the reserves.  While 
many of the chiefs in the Assembly are opposed to Bill C-7, 
the First Nations Governance Act, federal officials claim it 
is an important, long-overdue piece of legislation which 
will permit natives to improve their quality of life.  Other 
critics go farther and suggest that the chiefs' opposition 
is based on a desire to protect inappropriate privileges and 
powers. 
 
6.  During his campaign, Fontaine acknowledged the need for 
changes in First Nation affairs, but he called Bill C-7 
regressive.  He sees poverty as the underlying cause for 
many of the problems the First Nations face.  It stands to 
reason that the AFN would not support the legislation; many 
Assembly representatives see their role and status as being 
threatened by the law, which would essentially disband the 
Assembly in favor of an allegedly more effective group.  The 
Director of International Affairs at the AFN told the 
embassy that the real issue behind the bill is not 
accountability of the chiefs, but the need for self- 
governance.  According to this view, most chiefs do not have 
problems with accountability and, in fact, spend much of 
their time writing reports and keeping others aware of their 
actions.  Many within First Nation communities see the bill 
as a continuance of assimilation policies they oppose, 
saying it imposes non-native cultural structures onto native 
groups.  At the same time, they are tired of not having a 
say in how their governments operate.  To remedy this, the 
AFN proposed the First Nations Plan, an internal initiative 
that would review the structure of the AFN, voting, and 
other First Nation governmental issues without GOC 
involvement. 
7.  Paul Martin, who is expected to become the Liberal 
Party's leader in November and Prime Minister shortly 
thereafter, has his own reservations regarding Bill C-7.  He 
received wide praise among native leaders for blocking the 
passage of the bill this spring by filibustering in 
committee.  He does not want it to proceed without further 
consultation with the First Nations.  Martin stated that the 
proposed legislation "severely poisoned the well of federal- 
aboriginal relations," noting that the government, in 
pushing ahead with the legislation despite an AFN boycott 
announced in 2001, had created a quagmire."  (Note: Bill C-7 
is considered a part of the so-called "legacy legislation" 
of the outgoing Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, himself a 
former Minister of Indian Affairs, who may recommend quick 
passage when Parliament returns to work in September.) 
 
8.  Comment:  The AFN is a diverse and unwieldy group, not 
surprising given Canada's huge geographical expanse, its 
propensity for regional political discord, and the varying 
governance structures currently in place among its First 
Nations.  The Assembly is essentially a lobby group whose 
prestige rises and falls with its ability to influence 
policy.  Much of the recent decline is attributed to former 
AFN Chief Matthew Coon Come whose acerbic style alienated 
potential allies within the Department of Indian Affairs. 
The Department delivered a strong signal last year when it 
cut the AFN's GOC-derived funding in half, ostensibly 
because of his inability to work effectively with the GOC. 
Martin, the Prime Minister-in-waiting has not only earned 
the AFN's gratitude by questioning C-7 and announcing that 
would seek equal representation for the AFN in all federal- 
provincial meetings, but he has also reflected a 
conciliatory, consultative management style.  The stage is 
set for a renewed dialogue, even though some tension will 
likely remain.