Promises investments in health care, clean water, housing for First Nations NDP Leader Jack Layton yesterday promised to dust off an almost decade-old report recommending a parallel aboriginal government and to invest money in health care, clean drinking water and housing on First Nations.

During a campaign stop in Winnipeg Centre, the urban riding with the largest concentration of aboriginals in Canada, Layton said only the NDP will speak up for a strong, independent First Nations government in Canada.

"I believe we can keep Canada's promise to First Nations," he said.

He said the Liberals don't keep their promises to First Nations and the Conservatives want to assimilate them.

Layton's presence in Winnipeg Centre was likely designed to prop up the campaigns of NDP MP Pat Martin and Winnipeg North NDP incumbent Judy Wasylycia-Leis, both of whom are in tough re-election fights against Liberals.

Layton was treated to a true Manitoba summer welcome during the event in Vimy Ridge Park and was forced to douse himself with mosquito repellent just minutes after arriving.

After serving pizza to local residents and listening to a group of aboriginal teenage girls in a traditional drum ceremony, Layton said settling land claims and expanding aboriginal justice are priorities for his party.

He also promised to invite First Nations representatives to the table at a first ministers meeting, and said an NDP government would begin implementing the recommendations of the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, which drew a cheer from the small crowd.

"We will act at long last on its recommendations," Layton said.

The report was commissioned by the Brian Mulroney government in 1991 following the crisis at Oka in Quebec. It reported back five years later with 440 recommendations, including one that called for the establishment of a special parliament -- the House of First Peoples -- to be merged with the House of Commons and the Senate, and it called for multibillion-dollar investments to improve aboriginal housing, health and employment opportunities.

Layton also said Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper has been hiding the true Conservative agenda, which includes a plan to assimilate First Nations.

"Tom Flanagan's solution is assimilation," Layton said.

Conservative MP Brian Pallister, running for re-election in Portage-Lisgar, said Layton was completely off the mark.

"He's deeply misguided," Pallister said. "It's so far off the mark it's hard to respond to it."

Pallister said one of the big promises he's made is to ensure aboriginal women have equal rights over marital property.

Pallister said Layton is grasping at straws in an election the NDP has no chance of winning.

"Mr. Layton can make all the promises he wants, because he has the advantage of knowing he'll never have to implement them," Pallister said.