Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada Media Clips

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Wednesday, January 25,2006 • mercredi, 25 janvier 2006 Media Clips • 25 January 2006 Actualite du 25 janvier 2006

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IRS ARTICLES-ARTICLES D'IRS

STATEMENT BY ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS NATIONAL CHIEF PHIL FONTAINE ON ELECTION RESULTS ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3

BEVINGTON WIN NOT WELCOME FOR SOME IN DELTA...... 4

TORIES' TRIUMPH DRAWS MIXED POLITICAL REACTION ...... S

'I'LL FIGHT EVEN STRONGER' ...... 8

OTHER ARTICLES-AUTRES ARTICLES

REACTIONS TO ELECTION RESULTS ...... ll

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c ~edia Clips · 25 January 2006 Actualite du 25 janvier 2006

Source: Canadian Newswire Group

Date: January 24, 2006

By-line: Phil Fontaine Statement by Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine on election results

"I would like to congratulate the new Prime Minister-Elect, Stephen Harper, and his party's success in this election. As well, I want to congratulate all candidates and all parties on their dedication. We look forward to working with the new government to ensure a better quality of life for First Nations and a stronger country for all Canadians.

With the election of a new minority government and a strong opposition slate, it is time for Parliament to work together and with First Nations to ensure we maintain the momentum achieved over the past 18 months. The commitments from the First Ministers Meeting, the Residential Schools Agreement in Principle and the continued high-level engagement between the Government of Canada and First Nations must be honoured and supported by this new Parliament. Closing the gap in quality of life between First Nations and other Canadians within ten years must remain our shared legacy project. Our population is young and growing. It is in all our interests to reach out to this important demographic. Our future is Canada's future.

The AFN remained non-partisan duringthe election and did not endorse any party, although we did seek clear commitments on our agenda and our priorities. We were consistently re-assured that the Conservative Party would respect the objectives and targets of the First Ministers Meeting and would implement the Residential Schools Agreement. We will seek a meeting as soon as possible to discuss how we move forward on these commitments. We also expect that the Liberal, New Democratic and Bloc Quebecois parties will continue to support these commitments and work to ensure progress, as they have in the past.

I congratulate Stephen Harper on his success. He stated that he is seeking to give provinces and territories more say in decision-making on national priorities, as well as more access and control to resources in their regions. In many ways, this is what First Nations are seeking. A Prime people. This includes the pressing labour market needs, and that tapping the potential of our young and growing population is essential to Canada's continued success and productivity. There are many win-win approaches to our mutual issues and we want to work on an agenda aimed at getting results that honours the Conservative legacy of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples by honouring its recommendations.

To outgoing Prime Minister Martin, I want to personally acknowledge your commitment and your efforts to improve the lives of First Nations and all Canadians. Your approach of constructive and cooperative engagement has led to establishing of a template for future relations between our people and Canada. Your long career as a Parliamentarian is to be acknowledged with great respect.

To Mister Duceppe and Mister Layton, and the members of the opposition, it is clear that the influence you hold will be vitally important in this minority government. I look forward to seeing the continued support of your parties for the issues that matter to First Nations. You have stood with us before. We hope you will stand with us again. To all Canadians, we say that now is the time for action on our long­ standing issues so we can build a better Canada for all."

3 Media Clips • 25 January 2006 Actualite du 25 janvier 2006

Source: CBC News North Date: January 24, 2006 By-line: N/A Bevington win not welcome for some in Delta

Aboriginal leaders in the Mackenzie Delta say they are disappointed by Monday's federal election results, which put an NDP member into the House of Commons representing the Western Arctic.

Both Gwich'in and lnuvialuit leaders say Dennis Bevington, the territory's new member of Parl iament, lacks the connections and experience to get resu lts in Ottawa.

"I don't think he will be helpful at all because he's made it clear in a lot of comments he's made that he's anti-pipeline, so I don't know if he would change his position too much," says Nellie Cournoyea, the chair of the lnuvialuit Regional Corporation.

"And the party in power is the Conservatives."

Cournoyea, who leads a multi-million dollar corporation with a huge stake in the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline project, says the lnuvialuit could lose a lot as a result of last night's change in government.

Not only does she say a Conservative win means the half-bill ion-dollar socio-economic fu nd for the region is in jeopardy, but she says she's not sure what will happen with residential school payouts.

During the campaign the Conservatives promised to keep Liberal commitments on residential school payouts and other issues, but said they had concerns with the lack of planning on how they would be paid out.

Fred Carmichael, the president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council and the chair of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, agrees with Cournoyea's assessment. "It's really too bad for the North," he says. "As much as Dennis might be a good man- I know Dennis­ he's a likeabl e person.

"As I said earlier, he's a lone wolf, without a pack. So, there's not much he can do." Carmichael says that, with any luck, there will be another federal election soon.

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Media Clips • 25 January 2006 Actualite du 25 janvier 2006

Source: The Star Date: January 24, 2005 By-line: Julia Skikavich

Tories' triumph draws mixed political reaction

The Conservatives will be forming a minority government in Ottawa - but, even the didn't seem excited about the changes that will take place in Parliament.

"What's important for all of us, regardless of what political ideology is in the federal office as far as prime minister and cabinet ministers, is that we make our case and that we can continue to work with the federal government," Premier told the Star this morning from Vancouver. He is attending the annual Mineral Exploration Roundup in that city.

Fentie said the territorial government will be focusing on working with the federal Conservatives on fiscal issues, further devolution of powers to territories, implementation and settlements of land claims and the $5-billion Kelowna, B.C. agreement made with aboriginals last year.

With the polls showing for the last two weeks that Conservative Leader Stephen Harper would likely be forming government, the three premiers of the territories have already spoken and developed a plan of action to deal with the new government, said Fentie.

"(We) have agreed to put together a pan-northern approach to the new prime minister, so that we can, early in his tenure, sit down with him and discuss issues relevant North of 60," he said.

The premier said he is confident the Conservatives will be "very conscious" of the needs of northerners and the Yukon.

"In fact, the prime minister-elect put that in writing, recognizing that northerners must take on more control of their affairs and be more involved in the decision-making that builds the future for our territories," he said.

He was referring to a letter sent by Harper to territorial premiers and published in the Star earlier this month.

But not all territorial politicians seemed quite as confident.

"I'll be watching it very closely. I'm very worried," said Pat Duncan, a former premier and the Liberal MLA for Porter Creek South. "It certainly doesn't look like there's any Conservative representation from the North, and the answers I read in the papers didn't appear to have a full understanding (of the North).

"You can't just say 'the North' and lump all three territories. Each territory is different, very different and it has a different situation."

Norma Kassi, a former territorial NDP MLA and a member of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, said she is concerned about how the Conservatives will approach aboriginal concerns.

"We've worked very hard to educate the Liberal government and now we have to work twice as hard to educate the Conservatives," said Kassi.

5 Media Clips • 25 January 2006 Actualite du 25 janvier 2006

"We've got to get work, I guess, and do as much as we possibly can to work and begin to build partnerships there."

Jason Cunning, a Liberal campaign worker, agreed the Conservatives may "spell trouble for aboriginals."

"The Conservatives, (Canadian) Alliance, Reform for the last decade have voted against every major land claim that's gone through the House of Commons, so unless they have an epiphany now that they're in power, it's going to continue to be a rocky relationship with first nations people across the country, not only in the North," said Cunning.

"I certainly don't expect it to improve. I think it's a question of how bad are they going to get."

Larry Bagnell, the Yukon's re-elected Liberal MP, said he is committed to ensuring Harper and his party are aware of aboriginal concerns.

"The $5-billion Kelowna agreement was an agreement created over an entire year by aboriginal people and supported by the government. The residential school agreement. They are historic agreements," said Bagnell. "He (Harper) can't just let them go like that and get away with it."

Bagnell said he will be fighting hard in Ottawa to ensure the Yukon's interests aren't set aside with him now sitting in the opposition.

He, however, expressed concerns the territory may lose some funding under a Conservative government, including the gas tax agreement and infrastructure funding for municipalities.

"I only hope for the North that the Conservatives are as generous to the North as the Paul Martin government was," said Shayne Fairman, Bagnell's campaign manager.

"I hope that will happen; I'm not optimistic. Larry's probably going to have to work probably doubly as hard as he already does."

But territorial NDP Leader said he is hopeful Bagnell will have some help to advance Yukon interests.

Three former Yukoners have been elected to the federal NDP caucus: Alex Atamanenko, representing B.C. Southern Interior; Pat Martin, representing Winnipeg Centre; and, Peter Stoffer, representing Sackville Eastern Shore in Nova Scotia.

"The Yukon has representatives, they live elsewhere, but we have connections from coast to coast to coast," said Hardy. He added he will be in touch with the NDP members to ensure they are aware of the Yukon's concerns.

The "balance of power" will continue to be held by the NDP, said Hardy. The party jumped to 29 seats in this election.

He said the Yukon's interests would have likely have been better represented in the House of Commons if NDP candidate Pam Boyde had been elected, because then the Conservatives would be forced to hear the voice of Yukoners.

"They don't have to listen to the Liberals," he said.

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Media Clips • 25 January 2006 Actualite du 25 janvier 2006

But overall, Hardy said he doesn't see there being "much change between the Conservatives and the Liberals as a minority."

The only thing Hardy is looking forward to is the Conservatives following up on their platform commitments to clean up government and make it more ethical and accountable to Canadians.

"It's something the Liberals resisted doing."

What will happen over the next several months under Harper's Conservative government remains to be seen, said Derek Yap, who has been a Liberal supporter for the last decade.

"I'm just taking a deep breath and I'm just going to wait and see what happens," said Yap. "Harper and his team have never governed before."

"Remember the last time there was a Conservative minority and eight months later there was another election and Liberal majority," said Duncan, looking back to former prime minister Joe Clark's short time in power in 1979-80.

Yukon Party cabinet minister John Edzerza attended Bagnell's election celebrations, but no other parties'.

He said he is going to give the Conservatives "the benefit of the doubt" for now.

"It's somewhat of a myth to say that just because we have a Conservative government in the Yukon and a Conservative government in Ottawa, everything will go hunky-dory," said Edzerza. "Sometimes it works, sometimes it won't."

Brad Cathers, the Yukon Party's Health Minister and a supporter of the Reform party since 1995, now endorses the Conservatives. He said he was pleased with the results.

"I'm hopeful there will be intent to deal with northern issues," he said.

He claims to have a "long list" of friends in the Conservative party federally, who he hopes to use to the Yukon's benefit to advance the territory's concerns. Cathers' declined to provide any names of his connections.

Duncan said the Yukon Party has spent a lot of time distancing itself from the Conservatives.

"I'm certainly interested in asking them where their federal Conservatives are (in relation to the Yukon)," said Duncan. "They have not hesitated to talk about the federal Liberals. Now we can talk about the federal Conservatives."

Said Fentie: "I am one who doesn't really measure what we can do with respect to what our partisan ideologies are in comparison to the federal government.

"Yukon, first and foremost, will maintain a constructive and positive working relationship with whomever is elected to office in the federal government."

7 Media Clips • 25 January 2006 Actualite du 25 janvier 2006

Source: The Whitehorse Star Date: January 24, 2006 By-line: Julia Skikavich

'I'll fight even stronger'

Liberal incumbent Larry Bagnell wins, the Liberals lose and Paul Martin announces he will resign as party leader before the next federal election.

That's how things played out at Bagnell's election gathering in the Fireside Room of the Yukon Inn - and it almost makes it understandable the atmosphere was more sedated than jubilant as Monday evening wore on.

By the time about 60 of Bagnell's supporters and campaign volunteers began to trickle in at 8 p.m., the three televisions in the room displaying CBC's Canada Votes telecast had projected over an hour earlier the Conservatives would be forming a minority government. The numbers creeping back and forth on the screen only confirmed what Canadians and Yukoners had been suspecting from polls for the last two weeks.

The end of the evening saw Stephen Harper's Conservatives form government with 124 seats, the Liberals trailing at 103, the Bloc Quebecois earning 51 seats, the NDP jumping up to 29, the Greens once again failing to earn their first seat in the House of Commons and a lone Quebec independent taking office.

But despite the change in Ottawa, Bagnell again earned the approval of Yukoners, winning this election by an even larger margin than he did in June 2004.

Bagnell ended the evening with 6,84 7 votes, placing him 1,126 votes higher than his 5, 721-vote finish in 2004.

The results supported the campaign pins worn by many in the celebration room, stating "Larry works for me" and three-month old Maddox Hale's pajamas which proclaimed "I (heart) Larry."

New Democrat candidate Pam Boyde came in second with 3,366 votes, placing the party 3,481 ballots behind Bagnell.

Boyde only beat Conservative candidate Sue Greetham by 25 votes. In 2004, then-Conservative candidate James Hartle trailed significantly, taking only 2,609 ballots -over 3,112 ~otes behind Bagnell.

By the time Bagnell entered the room as the clock crept toward 9 p.m., his win was a foregone conclusion.

Walking down the long hallway from his hotel room, where he'd watched the results come in across the country, Bagnell was joined by his fiancee, Melissa Craig, both dressed in Liberal red and marching to the blare of the Proclaimers' I Would Walk 500 Miles.

When I'm walkin, yes I know I'm gonna be,/ I'm gonna be the man who's walkin hard for you./ And when the money, comes in for the work I do,/1'11 pass almost every penny on to you, says the song. Based on the 48.2 per cent of the Yukon voters casting their ballots in his favour, residents agree with the sentiment.

8 • Media Clips • 25 January 2006 Actualite du 25 janvier 2006

Bagnell told the crowd he admired the fairness and loyalty Yukoners showed in electing him to Ottawa again. He was first sent to the House of Commons in 2000.

"I think you should be very proud, that in these tough times, you stood up for Liberal values of equality, generosity, of fairness and of looking after those in need," said Bagnell.

Quoting former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Bagnell reminded his supporters the voters are always right and "the world is unfolding as it should."

But the member of Parliament also warned the millions upon millions of dollars that came to the North and the Yukon under the Paul Martin Liberal government may now be in jeopardy.

He cited the gas tax for communities, the municipal infrastructure fund and work done with first nations in the $5-billion Kelowna aboriginal agreement and the residential schools agreement.

"I'm just going to have to fight even stronger to make sure this government hears about those things that are very important to Yukon," he told reporters following his speech.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is going to hear about potential drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, he is going to hear about aboriginal concerns, he is going to hear about the importance of the Kelowna agreement, the unity of Canada and opposition to the U.S. missile defence system, said Bagnell.

"People know that I'm not shy to stand up and speak and I'll probably get more chance in Opposition," he said. "It will be easiest for me to do that; to speak for all these things we might lose in the Yukon.

"We have the most questions in Question Period, the most seats in committees and the most chance to challenge the Conservatives and the government for these things we might lose; well , these things we know we're going to lose. So we're not going to lose it without one heck of a fight."

Jason Cunning, a campaign worker, wasn't as confident as Bagnell.

"He won't be able to do as much, but it won't be for a lack of trying or a lack of hard work," Cunning told the Star. "Over some of the bigger-ticket items, he's going to have less influence."

It will be Bagnell's connections to people in other parties he's made over the last five years that will really pay dividends now, said Cunning, who was a top assistant to Pat Duncan when she was the Yukon's premier.

Bagnell, himself, said he was surprised by the results in the Yukon. He had thought with the negative campaigning going on nationally, he may have fallen in the polls.

"It's a testament to his hard work and his ability to get things done," said Shayne Fairman, Bagnell's campaign manager.

"I think it's all about Larry, particularly given the trends, he not just resisted that flow, he actually appeared to swim upstream and actually do better than he did last time."

"Anything that Larry does in Ottawa will be good for Yukon. He works hard for us," said Derek Yap, a supporter at the celebrations. "I think he's made lots of good connections with all kinds of parties in Ottawa. He'll be able to get the voice of Yukon there."

9 Media Clips • 25 January 2006 Actualite du 25 janvier 2006

Duncan, the Liberal MLA for Porter Creek South, made a brief appearance at Bagnell's event and wasn't surprised by his victory.

"He's an excellent candidate. He works incredibly hard on behalf of everyone," she said.

"Larry is a Yukoner who speaks on behalf of Yukoners. He will be carrying a Yukon message. He will be knocking on every cabinet minister's door. He'll keep knocking."

But even as supporters and the campaign team were enjoying Bagnell's victory, the outgoing Martin announced he will resign as leader of the Liberal party prior to the next election.

"I think it will be a very sad loss to the North, that a person who has done so much for us won't be leading us in the next election," said Bagnell.

He credited Martin with the 2007 Canada Winter Games Centre, the Northern Strategy, the gas tax share for municipalities and infrastructure money flowing to communities.

"In an amazingly short time as prime minister, Canada is really going to notice all the accomplishments that he actually achieved and certainly, I think, miss him if we aren't true to his leadership and keep all those initiatives going into the future," he said.

Fairman has been an active Martin supporter since the 1990s and was visibly upset following the party leader's announcement.

"I'm tremendously disappointed. I don't know what else to say," Fairman told the Star. "Paul Martin is first and foremost an honourable man and I think he did what he thought was the honourable thing to do tonight.

"It's a huge loss to the party, the country and to the North."

Bagnell isn't waiting to get back into his role as member of Parliament and isn't even taking a day break following the election campaign.

This morning, he boarded a plane to Vancouver to attend the Cordilleran Mineral Exploration Roundup, one of the largest exploration conferences in the world.

"Elections are divisive by nature, but in the grand scale of international competitiveness and the interconnected world, we all need to work together if we are going to succeed in that large world," said Bagnell.

10 Media Clips • 25 January 2006 Actualite du 25 janvier 2006

Source: APTN Daytime News Date: January 24, 2005 By-line: Transcript

Reactions to Election Results

»Anchor: We have President of the Native Women's Association of Canada, Beverly Jacobs in Ottawa, President of the Metis Nation of Ontario, Tony Belcourt, and we begin with the Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Shawn Atleo in Nanimo.

»Atleo: It is minority government situation and as the National Chief says and as the Assembly of First Nations has indicated we are going work with any government that comes into power. And so the Conservatives, in their responses to us, indicated they are willing to sit down and willing to engage and so I for one certainly look forward to getting to that as soon as possible now that this election is finally over.

»Beverly Jacobs: One of our concerns is also with respect to the Kelowna meeting that we had because the government, or prime minister martin at that time, had promised the next First Ministers' meeting to focus on aboriginal women and violence. So that is what we will be working toward.

»Tony Belcourt When you look at the result, we have pretty well an identical kind of parliament that we had last time except that the government is blue and the leader of the opposition is red. It is the same numbers and I think the Conservative Party and the leader of the Conservative Party Stephen Harper, will have the same problems that Mr. Martin had in terms of pushing through in the House of Commons their own agenda. I think that's good for aboriginal people generally in the sense that you know, anything you may have feared being railroaded through the House just won't happen.

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