A Manitoba native organization that has received millions of dollars in federal government funding has in turn flowed $16,000 to the federal Liberals in political donations over the last seven years. Elections Canada figures show the Liberals are the only federal party to have received funds from Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) since 1997. MKO is not the only native organization to have made donations to the Liberal party. Norway House First Nation, 450 kilometres north of Winnipeg, has contributed $21,576 to the party since 1998. MKO Grand Chief Sidney Garrioch -- a member of the elite Laurier Club, which is open only to those who donate a minimum of $1,000 annually to the Liberals -- was one of four Manitoba chiefs who spent a total of $15,000 to charter a plane to Ottawa so they could attend a garden party Wednesday night hosted by Prime Minister Paul Martin. For the second straight day, Garrioch did not respond to Free Press requests to discuss MKO's contributions to the Liberals and the decision to spend $15,000 to fly to Ottawa for the two-hour garden party attended by hundreds of Grits. As a political tribal organization, MKO receives federal funding to represent the 30 northernmost Manitoba First Nations, which are home to 53,000 aboriginal people. According to its last audited statement for the year ended March 2003, Ottawa gave MKO $3.9 million in fiscal 2002-2003. MKO's funding of the federal Liberals -- and its involvement in the flight to the prime minister's garden party -- have raised questions about the perception of political kickbacks to the Liberals, and about accountability. Don Godwin, a school teacher and former band employee at Norway House, said there are far more pressing needs for the money. "It could have provided a house for a single mother and two children and provided a lot of benefit for something which was needed to be done," said Godwin. Nancy McKay, a councillor with Pine Creek First Nation, 110 kilometres north of Dauphin, said the regional chiefs have their priorities mixed up when they put Liberal politics ahead of grassroots problems, such as the fact the school on her reserve won't open until Sept. 20 because of a shortage of money. "It is not right," McKay said. "They are supposed to be talking for the First Nations, not going gallivanting off and spending our money in Ottawa." NDP native affairs critic Pat Martin said MKO's actions raise questions similar to those exposed in the federal sponsorship scandal, which involved Liberal-friendly advertising firms getting huge sums of money from Ottawa. "Federal money shouldn't be filtered through an organization and then back to the Liberal party," said Martin (Winnipeg Centre). "That is fundamentally wrong. "How is this any different than running money through (Quebec advertising firm) GroupAction if it ends up back in the Liberal party?" The Free Press reported yesterday that Garrioch, Norway House chief Ron Evans, Chris Henderson, head of the southern chiefs, and Arnold Ouskan, grand chief of the Keewatin Tribal Council, spent $15,000 of their organizations' money to charter a plane to attend the prime minister's party for Laurier Club members. They justified their decision to charter a plane as the only way to fly round-trip from Norway House and back in a single day. However, that decision meant spending roughly three times more than what it would have cost to take regularly scheduled commercial flights. Evans -- who ran unsuccessfully for the Liberals in the Churchill riding in the federal election and who is also a member of the Laurier Club -- was unavailable for comment yesterday.
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