February 21, 2005

The five federally recognized aboriginal groups will be asked to send a representative to meetings whenever MPs are studying legislation that relates to their constituents.

The aboriginal leaders will sit at the committee table and have the same rights as MPs to question witnesses, but they will not be allowed to vote.

The motion was put forward by Winnipeg NDP MP Pat Martin, who said the idea came to him during last year's bitter committee debates over the failed First Nations Governance Act.

"It was so obvious to me that a bunch of white men in suits were sitting around the table passing laws affecting lives (of aboriginal people) and they were waiting their turn for a lousy five minutes at the table as witnesses.

"There's no genuine participation of aboriginal people in the crafting of aboriginal legislation and it's offensive. It smacks of colonialism. It's just fundamentally wrong," he said.

But Vancouver Island Conservative MP John Duncan, one of the few committee members who voted against the motion, said the move sets a legislative precedent almost unheard of in the democratic world.

"I was completely astounded that the motion carried. ... These people are not elected to our House," Mr. Duncan said. "Committees are there to bring in people as witnesses, not as active participants. This will create a very divisive situation."

Diversity in the House of Commons ensures Parliament represents the views of all Canadians, Mr. Duncan said, noting two aboriginal MPs already sit on the committee.

He predicted the decision would sew divisions within the aboriginal community.

The five groups granted permanent membership to the committee include the Assembly of First Nations, the Metis National Council, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and the Native Women's Association.

Native leaders said they have every right to be involved in government policy.

"As soon as we invite one member of the aboriginal community to carry out this function, we'll have countless others who think they should have been selected," Duncan said.

Terri Brown, president of the Native Women's Association, said the decision could foster some hostility among native groups not considered for representation.

"My way of thinking is the more the merrier," she said. "But I know they can't include every group in Canada ... there are established groups that should be considered."

Duncan also suggested the motion's success was an election ploy designed by the Liberals who sit on the 15-member committee.

The committee, along with its new aboriginal representatives, will dissolve and be reformed with the election of a new parliament.

A newly formed committee would not pass a similar motion, Duncan maintained.

"This is typical of this government ... not wanting to offend anyone. But this will be perceived by the non-aboriginal community for what it is -- special status all over again," he said. "Other people will wonder why they aren't allowed to have ex-officio status on committees as well."

Native leaders said they have every right to be involved in government policy.

"We have a special place in the Canadian Constitution ... we are the first people of the land," Brown said. "It's not as if we're being given special consideration because we are good friends with the prime minister -- this is a very progressive move."

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples also called the move a positive first step towards native representation.

But details of the new arrangement still need to be addressed, said their National Chief Dwight Allister Dorey. "Who decides when an invitation is offered? Who decides when a (committee) issue applies to one group or another?"