NATIVE GOVERNANCE
Globe & Mail
When Stephen Harper shuffled his cabinet last summer, Indian Affairs lost one of the government's strongest ministers in Jim Prentice. But Mr. Prentice's replacement has proved more than adequate. In less than a year on the job, Chuck Strahl has taken impressive steps toward tackling the problems plaguing this country's aboriginal population.
Mr. Strahl has driven progress forward on a number of fronts. He played an instrumental role in this month's historic apology for residential schools, introduced a $330-million plan to improve the quality of drinking water on reserves, and has made a concerted effort to accelerate the processing of native land claims. But the Indian Affairs Minister is also making headway on a particularly sensitive challenge - bringing greater accountability to aboriginal leadership, and providing stronger mechanisms for natives to ensure they are fairly represented.
The previous Liberal government attempted to go down this road with its First Nations Governance Act - a sweeping piece of legislation that would have dramatically changed the way that reserves are run. The bill's provisions were mostly sensible and necessary, but it met with such strong opposition from native leaders that the Liberals ultimately abandoned it altogether.
While in opposition, the Conservatives indicated that they would introduce similar legislation. Instead, under the guidance of Mr. Prentice and especially Mr. Strahl, they have taken a more prudent route. Rather than imposing a series of reforms in one fell swoop, they are changing native governance by gradually implementing some of the FNGA's key provisions.
This spring, the government reached agreement with the opposition to remove from the Canadian Human Rights Act an exemption that had deprived natives living on reserves of basic protections the rest of us take for granted. Now, the government is moving forward on imposing greater fiscal accountability.
Beginning on July 1, all transfers to reserves will contain a clause allowing Indian Affairs to conduct an audit to determine whether the funds were properly spent. It remains to be seen how often, and with what justification, this power will be invoked. But it should allow the government to better ensure that the money it is spending on education, housing and other social services is reaching its intended target. And, as is equally important, it has the potential to empower residents of reserves by providing a mechanism to investigate complaints that their funds are being mismanaged.
It requires a strong stomach to impose such reforms, which invariably attract allegations of paternalistic infringement upon aboriginal autonomy. But it requires a deft touch, too. Mr. Strahl does not make blustery public speeches or needlessly provoke native leaders. Instead, in a government often criticized for its combativeness, he is quietly and efficiently going about his job.