Adding Accountability To The Circle

Assembly of First Nations Accountability at stake

Canada's aboriginal leaders have repeatedly resisted attempts by the federal government to impose greater accountability on native governance. Such efforts are paternalistic and unnecessary, they contend; the Assembly of First Nations is more than capable of managing its own affairs. But the manner in which the AFN is regulating the election of its top national official suggests that it has yet to embrace transparency measures that most Canadians take for granted in their governments.

The AFN need not adopt the extremely rigid limits for campaign donations that have been introduced for federal elections. But it is unthinkable that, in 2009, the candidates to serve as national chief are under no obligation to publicly disclose where their campaign funds are coming from. Nor, it appears, do the five contenders for the job feel inclined to voluntarily reveal their contributors. When asked recently by The Globe, one declined outright; two released general information, but did not name the donors; and two replied that they had not raised much money, and would post donation information on their websites at some point in the future.

Although only the chiefs of reserves are eligible to vote for the AFN's national leader, this lack of information is a disservice to all aboriginals. The AFN carries great influence with the federal government, and the positions of its national chief - particularly on issues related to natural resources - are of great interest to certain corners of the public sector. Two of the candidates say they recently declined donations from resource companies - one of them reportedly worth $35,000, the total amount each candidate is permitted to spend. AFN members need to know that none of the would-be chiefs is unduly beholden to outside interests.

Previous federal attempts to make native leaders more accountable, including the abandoned First Nations Governance Act, did not address the election of national chiefs; they were more focused on reserves. But if these are the standards nationally, one can only imagine how elections are run at the band level. There are many hopeful signs in the current campaign, most notably a focus on economic development and less posturing against the federal government than was the case in previous races. But there remains an obvious deficiency in the standards to which native leaders are held.

Marcel Balfour, the chief of Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba, has said that he will put forward more transparent disclosure rules at this month's AFN convention. The candidates for national chief would considerably enhance their own credibility by endorsing his call. In doing so, they would signal a recognition of the continued need for an attitudinal shift among native leaders on matters of accountability

From Friday's Globe and Mail