Phil Fontaine--"The Ultimate Power Pow-wow"

Phil Fontaine doesn't want much, just full control over the budget of the Aboriginals, while answering to no government agency. Integration into the Canadian society is a non-starter as far as he is concerned. "It has proven to be a failure," he said. There was even talk of setting up Native universities--to facilitate the unique native perspective--whatever that means. Already, reports have shown that the native run school systems are grossly deficient, so what their graduates would do in a university setting that is merely an extension of that system is problematic at best. Oh, did I mention that Fontaine doesn't want the hundreds of millions in land claim settlements to be included in the final accounting of tax dollars given out. In fact, he wants the $10 billion allotment beefed up to help the burgeoning native birthrate. At a time when the overall Canadian birth rate has declined 25% over the last decade, that is what I call poor timing. In short, who is going to pay for this largesse? The average Canadian is already fearful of reduced old age pensions and the increases for health care in an aging population. Now, Paul Martin has started talking about the Metis nation and their needs. Mercy.

© Bud