The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Kelowna and Other Accords On National Aboriginal Day, which is always on the first day of summer, Creighton MP Gary Merasty released to The Reminder a statement again demanding that the former Liberal government's Kelowna Accord be honoured. He stated he had seconded a Liberal opposition motion in Parliament that the Accord be immediately implemented. He went on to assert that the Accord was signed in November 2005 and targeted $5.1 billion more for First Nations education, housing, water, health care and economic development, "which was accounted for by the previous Liberal government in its budgets and planning." Two days later another release announced the motion had passed and was a "terrific victory for all Canadians." Really? This writer had previously stated that the Opposition motion would not pass, as it meant an expenditure of funds and would trigger an election. But I was wrong. It will do no such thing! A private member's opposition motion is really only an expression of opinion of the Commons and does not legally bind the government, as a Parliamentary insider told The Corner. The insider went on to explain that only the government has the constitutional authority to introduce legislation to spend money. As well, he noted that the former Liberal government ignored dozens of opposition motions that passed in the last Parliament. Among them was one previously mentioned in this column Ð former Creighton MP Jeremy Harrison's motion to recognize and fairly compensate Aboriginal war veterans. The Kelowna Accord? The Conservatives insist that in reality there is no Accord. One who was at the Accord meetings said the only document that was ever released was a two-page press release that called for spending certain amounts in the five policy areas, and that although the Liberals claimed to have committed $5.1 billion, none of the money promised was ever set aside. It was also noted that the 2006 Tory budget committed more to the Aboriginal housing budget than the Liberals' Kelowna plan. We all know the Martin government was on its deathbed repentance mode last year before the election and would promise money to anybody for any reason. One suspects that if the Grits had achieved a majority in January, none of these expenditures would have taken place. It's not an Accord, but the recent actions of southern Manitoba native bands, attempting to blockade railroads to bring attention to their ancient land claims, is sure not the way to go. The majority reaction to date has been very negative, as the actions are not related to the claims. One Chief has threatened all sorts of actions if the police and the courts interfere in the blockade. One land claim is from 1903 and is for over $60 million. A CN spokesman claims a blockade would cost millions of dollars per day, and for what? It is almost a guarantee that the Harper government would react negatively to this kind of pressure. Speaking of pressure, what is the public reaction to the government's apologies to ethnic groups that were treated unfairly in Canada's past, and giving them money to boot? A good argument can be made for the Japanese-Canadians who lost property during the Second World War, but even then, did Japan ever apologize and compensate the Canadian troops enslaved during the war? Did Germany ever do the same for the mistreatment and even execution of POWs? You have to deal with the context of the times, and the laws in effect at those times. It's a reality that every group will demand compensation if others are getting it, and it's also a reality that Canada treats ethnic groups a lot more fairly than their home countries. Roger's Right Corner runs Wednesdays.
