October 14, 2004

The bill for their private charter, which took them from Norway House to Ottawa for a chance to shake Martin's hand and exchange a few words with the prime minister, will be paid by their tribal organizations.

Martin's party at his official residence was open only to members of the Liberal party's Laurier Club, which requires a minimum donation of $1,000.

Aboard the Skyward Aviation charter were Laurier Club members Sidney Garrioch, grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, and Ron Evans, chief of Norway House Cree Nation, who unsuccessfully ran for the Liberals in the federal election in the Churchill riding.

Also attending as their guests were Chris Henderson, head of the Southern Chiefs Organization, and Arnold Ouskan, grand chief of the Keewatin Tribal Council.

After the party, their charter was to whisk them back to Norway House, where they are to report on the event to delegates to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, who are meeting today in the northern Manitoba community.

The exclusive Sussex Drive party, scheduled to run for only two hours, was expected to attract more than 500 Liberals.

One veteran of such political events said attendees are lucky if they can get a 10-second personal conversation with the prime minister.

"Oh, for Pete's sake -- what a waste of money!" Leona Freed, national president of the First Nations Accountability Coalition, said last night from her home just south of Portage la Prairie when told of the trip.

"That could have paid for someone's salary," Freed said. "I'm upset about it, because they're forever wasting money." Freed said if the chiefs wanted to talk to the prime minister, they could have done so in The Pas this spring when he was campaigning in an unsuccessful bid to get Evans elected as a Liberal MP.

"Why didn't they ask him then?" Freeddemanded.

Her national coalition wants to meet with Martin to urge him to bring financial accountability to First Nations, Freed said. "Our last step, we have to go to the UN," she said. "First Nations people, at the band level, we desperately need help to get some financial accountability measures in legislation." Garrioch hung up on a reporter when asked about the cost of the trip.

Evans, who was elected to a four-year term in March of 2002, had declined to talk to a reporter when contacted Monday evening. The Winnipeg office of the Norway House First Nation said Monday that it was unaware the chief planned to go to Ottawa, and Evans's executive assistant did not return a series of phone calls.

But Henderson defended the trip and its price tag, saying it was a prime opportunity to meet Martin as well as his cabinet ministers, who were expected to attend.

"We are certainly hoping to meet him and other cabinet ministers who exercise influence over many issues that affect us, like housing and justice," said Henderson, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Winnipeg in 2002.

"We have to take all opportunities to make sure our interests are heard and protected." Their decision to charter a plane was taken so they could fly directly from Norway House and return in time for the chiefs' meeting this morning. Norway House is 450 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

The least expensive Air Canada connections to Ottawa from Winnipeg would cost about $3,000 for all four chiefs. A regularly scheduled flight from Norway House to Winnipeg would have added less than $2,000 to the cost of the trip.

Some Norway House residents were surprised when told of the trip.

Elder Margaret Balfour said she can't understand why money would be spent to attend a party in Ottawa, given the band's current financial state.

"We're so many millions of dollars in debt," said Balfour. "A lot of people here have needs. They need housing, and there's young people with no jobs and little children." Don Godwin, a former band employee and a schoolteacher on the reserve, said it's just another example of decisions being made without consulting the members.

"This had been going on for years," Godwin said.

Band councillor Marcel Balfour, who has been critical of Evans and his leadership, said there's no reason to fly to Ottawa just to party with the prime minister.

"It's not like there's going to be a chance to discuss any sort of policies or agreements," said Balfour. "This is just unacceptable for our leader to be doing this." NDP native affairs critic Pat Martin said he is appalled at the chiefs' actions and what he termed "cavalier spending." "It is a shocking misuse of these funds," said Martin, MP for Winnipeg Centre.