OTTAWA—Ottawa and Attawapiskat agree on everything except who controls the band’s purse strings — but that’s a major schism that could impede progress on the troubled northern reserve.Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan and his parliamentary secretary, Greg Rickford, met Thursday with leadership from the western James Bay community to hash out a way forward.
In a meeting that Rickford described as “respectful, cordial and collegial,” they emerged with a three-step stability plan.
Rickford said they agreed that emergency supplies need to keep coming in for the near term to resolve the Cree community’s immediate housing crisis. A retrofit of a local healing centre needs to be finished for the medium term. And 22 new houses need to be set up on new lots for the long term.
And Duncan confirmed construction will begin on a new elementary school in Attawapiskat in the spring, after years of lobbying by residents.
Notwithstanding persistent protests and threats of legal action from Chief Theresa Spence, however, Ottawa is insisting the reserve remain under third-party management.
“We agreed on just about everything. And we obviously agreed to disagree on the role of a third-party manager under these circumstances,” Rickford said in an interview.
The government appointee will only stay in place until the housing crisis is under control, likely just a few months, Rickford said.
Ottawa wants to get the housing plan solidified and well under way by the end of the fiscal year on Mar. 31, 2012. At that point, the third-party manager could relinquish control of the band’s finances, and a full audit of the last five years of spending would start.
The band chief and council have agreed to the audit, if only to prove Prime Minister Stephen Harper and others wrong in their stated belief that the band has mismanaged its money.
But Spence and the council have been adamant that the third-party manager — Jacques Marion of BDO Canada’s offices in Winnipeg — needs to be let go.
“The chief and council are not agreeing to third party at all. They’ve agreed to everything else,” Stan Beardy, grand chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation that includes Attawapiskat, said Thursday.
The band continues to refuse to allow Marion access to the reserve, and it will be very difficult for him to figure out what best needs to be done under these conditions, Beardy said in a phone interview.
“I don’t know how the working relationship that used to be there will pan out as the third party tries to implement measures to address the crisis. There’s no relationship, none whatsoever,” he said.
The band has filed an injunction to force Marion to relinquish control of Attawapiskat’s finances, Beardy said, because the housing crisis that started the dispute has nothing to do with financial mismanagement.
“It’s just under funding that is the issue.”
The overseer costs the band $1,300 per working day — money the band says it can’t afford. Spence also argues that his control slows down bureaucratic procedures, and is a punishment to the band for crying out for help.
Origin
Source: Star
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