[Indigsol] Secret documents reveal sweeping new rules for natives

[Ben Powless]

part of what Corvin commented on - now becomes big news...
i've heard inklings of this... if they push it through we should be prepared
for a real war. it seems all their chess pieces are lining up - this must
have been their plan all along - push for the governance act all over again.

"The documents indicate a desire to challenge the selection of community
leaders by "custom," a broad term that allows use of native traditions that
do not always involve secret ballot elections or written rules." - an
obvious attempt to shut down traditional leadership forms, like in six
nations...


In todays Globe...this is the other shoe dropping...

 Secret documents reveal sweeping new rules for natives Native leaders
warned Ottawa not to re-open the governance file unless it's willing to hold
wide-ranging consultations but classified papers show government moving
ahead

 BILL CURRY

>From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

March 3, 2009 at 3:00 AM EST

OTTAWA — The federal government is secretly planning an overhaul of the
rules governing Canada's reserves that is far more sweeping than what Ottawa
is telling Canada's chiefs and native leaders.

Documents show the government wants to address concerns over the way native
leaders are selected, including the fact that not all communities use secret
ballots, have clear term limits or written rules for picking leaders.

But addressing these very issues triggered widespread protests from native
leaders six years ago when the Liberal government brought in its doomed
First Nations Governance Act.

Native leaders have warned Ottawa not to re-open the governance file unless
it is willing to hold wide-ranging consultations to ensure the changes
protect native rights and are affordable to bands.


Now, hundreds of pages of classified documents - including a draft
memorandum to cabinet, and other Indian Affairs notes marked "secret" and
"protected" - obtained by The Globe and Mail show that the government is
moving ahead in these areas with far more limited consultations than what
native leaders have demanded.

The documents include a series of briefing notes and presentations drafted
by Indian Affairs officials over the past year as they prepared a new policy
aimed at improving the accountability of band leaders for the funds they
receive from Ottawa.

The documents make repeated references to the First Nations Governance Act
of 2002, noting that while the Liberals abandoned it due to the controversy,
there is still a need to address the outdated rules governing the way
reserves are run.

In an interview, Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said it is "completely
untrue" that his department is secretly proposing measures that were in the
Governance Act.

"There is no legislation planned and so it's not like the Governance Act,"
he argued. "But my goodness, if you want to scare people in first nations
country, you just talk about [former Liberal Indian Affairs minister] Bob
Nault's Governance Act."

That assurance appears to be contradicted by the documents, which show the
areas being addressed in the Conservative reform - such as ensuring secret
ballot elections and allowing all off-reserve members to vote - are the very
issues that were at the heart of the Liberal initiative. In fact, the
minister changed his tone when told The Globe had documents describing the
measures as a less-ambitious version of the Governance Act.

"Trust me. When we do the review, it won't be to say: 'How do we make things
less accountable and less transparent?' " he said. "And I'd be very
surprised if any First Nation nowadays would say the objective is less
transparency and less accountability."

One document marked secret and dated Feb. 19, 2008, asks for the approval of
Indian Affairs' associate deputy minister to seek cabinet's approval to
change the policies for funding band councils. It describes the measures as
"less ambitious" and "more modest" than the Governance Act. But it also
recommends that the new policies "would not be optional."

The documents suggest the new policy will revive the central elements of the
Governance Act, including mandatory rules for bands on how to conduct
elections and make their spending public to members.

Since the defeat of the Governance Act, Ottawa has faced calls from
editorial writers and groups such as the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to
revisit the issue of accountability on reserves. While the documents note
these pressures, they also show that Ottawa is knowingly exposing itself to
the same charge of inadequate consultation that doomed the Governance Act.

The documents say that Indian Affairs scaled back its budget for consulting
native leaders to $1.2-million from $5-million, and produced a
communications plan aimed at keeping the changes quiet.

"A low-profile communications approach is recommended," states one document,
titled "communications strategy" and marked "protected."

Under the heading "risks," a July 10, 2008, Indian Affairs presentation
states that it may look like Indian Affairs "has already decided" on its
reforms and that "with little time and funds, first nation participation
will be limited."

After the consultation meetings with some aboriginal leaders, the government
is aiming for the changes to take effect on April 1, 2010. Because the
changes will be brought in as new policy rather than a new law, they can be
implemented without triggering a debate in Parliament over legislation.

The documents indicate a desire to challenge the selection of community
leaders by "custom," a broad term that allows use of native traditions that
do not always involve secret ballot elections or written rules.

Further, another document indicates Ottawa wants to impose
access-to-information rules on reserves, a measure the Conservatives were
unable to win support for as part of the 2006 Federal Accountability Act.

The documents also show the government is not telling chiefs one of its main
motivations for changing the way band employee pensions are funded. Indian
Affairs told chiefs in a written letter the changes will "simplify"
reporting duties.

However, the documents show the change is motivated at least in part by a
desire to get Ottawa off the hook in the face of possible lawsuits for
under-funding pensions and ignoring mismanagement of pension funds.

"It wouldn't surprise me that that's in the mix of discussions and it should
be, but that's not the driving force behind the process," Mr. Strahl said.

A spokesperson for Indian Affairs, Margot Geduld, declined to answer a list
of specific questions for this story.

"We don't comment on leaked documents," she said.
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