Wed Jun 20,
Canadian Press
Once again Wednesday in the House of Commons, Prentice cited his efforts to protect the rights of native women in particular.
"He's turning things around, making it look like we're agreeing with him," says Beverley Jacobs, president of the Native Women's Association of Canada.
"And right now we don't."
Prentice blamed the Liberals for "blocking" his bid to repeal a 30-year-old section of the Human Rights Act that has barred complaints against
He made the comments after opposition MPs on the Commons aboriginal affairs committee recommended that the Conservatives consult First Nations on related legislation for 10 months.
Jacobs and other native leaders had testified that Prentice is rushing changes that could sow tension on ill-prepared reserves.
Already cash-strapped band councils could be peppered with divisive complaints - over everything from housing allotments to education funding - should the bill pass.
Liberal native affairs critic Anita Neville said nobody is against equal access to human rights.
"What we're opposed to is the process. What we heard over and over again from every First Nations group is that this bill should not have been brought forward without consultation," she said in an interview.
"We don't know the impact on communities. There's been no analysis of it. We don't know the capacity of communities to respond. We don't the impact on (traditional native) collective rights versus individual rights."
Prentice should show his commitment to human rights with enough cash to clean up decrepit housing and polluted water on reserves, Neville says. She and other critics say federal spending increases to about $10 billion this year for native programs have not kept pace with inflation, let alone population growth.
Prentice has promoted a regulatory regime to improve First Nations water quality, and says he has whittled down the number of First Nations at risk.
He was not available for further comment.
But the minister has frequently cited his efforts to increase native access to matrimonial property rights and human rights as one cornerstone of his accomplishments.
First Nations, however, have publicly questioned his approach on both issues.
Prentice plans to consult this summer on planned legislation to speed specific claims, and on another bill on how assets should be shared when marriages break up on reserves.
Neville says he should add the human rights legislation to that list.
"Do it right. Don't say you know what's best for people."