Mark Podlasly Has A Rough Road To Hoe

When it comes to bring indians into the 21st century. He will have to battle Fontaine and most of the tribal chiefs who will battle against giving up the largesse they have under the present system where they get first kick at the can. I wish Mark and his supporters the best of luck.........

Natives look beyond Kelowna
March 05, 2007
Carol Goar

There is an easy assumption in Liberal circles that all a future Stéphane Dion government would have to do to bring hope and healing to Canada's aboriginal peoples would be to reinstate the Kelowna Accord.

The $5 billion agreement to tackle aboriginal poverty was former prime minister Paul Martin's proudest achievement. It was endorsed by all of the premiers and the leaders of the five main aboriginal organizations.

The signatories never explained how they would reach the ambitious goals they set and Martin never explained how his government would pay for its five-year commitment. But the accord was hailed as a historic breakthrough.

Fifteen months later, many aboriginal people see it as yet another empty political deal, the latest in a long string of disappointments. That alone should give Dion pause.

But there is a more fundamental problem. For a growing segment of the aboriginal population, the Kelowna Accord reflects an outdated reality.

Mark Podlasly, a dynamic young native leader with a Harvard degree and a global business, speaks for that group. He headed the Liberal Renewal Commission's aboriginal task force.

His generation, Podlasly says, wants to break out of the stultifying hierarchy of governments and native organizations enshrined in Martin's plan. Despite the loss of social benefits and the high risk of poverty, aboriginal young people are heading for urban centres. They'd rather take their chances than wait for Ottawa and their own leaders to deliver on their promises.

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