Fontaine urges feds to quickly find new residential-school commission chair
Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine is calling for the federal government to quickly find a replacement for the man who abruptly resigned from the arduous task of chronicling the dark history of residential schools.
"Most survivors are elderly and too many are passing away each day without ever having the opportunity to tell their story to their families, their communities, the commission and indeed to all Canadians," said Fontaine.
Justice Harry LaForme walked out on the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission Monday less than six months into his mandate, citing "paralysis" because the two other commissioners did not share his vision or accept his authority.
Speaking at a press conference in Ottawa, Fontaine stressed the need for the three commissioners to work together on the commission, which was established in June to give some 80,000 former residential school survivors a chance to tell their story.
"We insisted that there be three commissioners. We never contemplated that there would be one commissioner that was more important than the other two commissioners. It was always seen as a commission that operated on the basis of consensus," said Fontaine.
Feds can't impose will on us: Fontaine
In his resignation letter, LaForme also accused the two commissioners — native health expert Claudette Dumont-Smith and lawyer Jane Brewin Morley — of wanting to make decisions by majority rule even though they were appointed to offer advice and assistance.
He stressed that the AFN "wholeheartedly" supported LaForme's appointment in April and is disappointed by his departure.
Refusing to speculate on what went on behind the scenes, Fontaine said the important thing is to focus instead on finding a new chair quickly to ensure the commission's momentum is not lost.
But the national assembly chief urged the government to work with the AFN and other involved parties both during the process and final decision of selecting a replacement, adding that Ottawa is required to do so under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
"It has to be collaborative. It can't be the government imposing its will on us," he warned.
Fontaine has criticized some of the hiring done by the commission, including the naming earlier this month of a federal government bureaucrat who is not an aboriginal person to be the new executive director.
Questions raised about LaForme
Residential school survivor Bill Wuttunee, meanwhile, was biting in his criticism of LaForme, suggesting he likely wasn't "qualified to handle the job in the first place."
"Did he have the enthusiasm to work in that position or was he too lazy? That's the question," Wuttunee told the news conference.
"He couldn't handle even a reconciliation position for three people, including himself. So why should people apologize because he resigned? He did the right thing. He did a good thing to quit and give other people a chance," said Wuttunee.
Wuttunee said LaForme failed to seek consensus, an important aspect of aboriginal culture.
"Even if there are 500 people, if one person disagrees, you have to adjourn meeting and talk to that one person as to why he's disagreeing and meet and make some compromise."
Patrick Brazeau, national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, told CBC News that he wants the two remaining members of the commission to give their sides of the story.
He said it is critical to find out why LaForme left if the commission is to continue and suggested LaForme may have left over continued "political interference" from groups such as the Assembly of First Nations.
"We certainly have to have the answers to those questions to ensure that there was no political interference," said Brazeau. "Because if that's the case — and I hope it's not … for the sake of the survivors — this will delegitimize the process, and then we'll have to assess where to go from here."
Brazeau's group represents off-reserve aboriginal people and has often been at loggerheads with the AFN and its national chief.
Fontaine stressed that the AFN was one of the key proponents for the creation of the commission and denied that it had intruded in the process.
"There has been absolutely no interference," said Fontaine. "Our position has been to support the commission."
Feds reviewing resignation
A spokesman for Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said LaForme's resignation is being reviewed, and no decision has yet been made on how to move forward, although the government remains committed to the commission.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created as a result of the court-approved Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement that was negotiated in 2006 between former students, churches, the federal government, the Assembly of First Nations and other aboriginal organizations.
About 150,000 aboriginal children attended Canada's 130 residential schools from the late 1800s to 1996, when the last school closed. About 80,000 former students are still alive, but an estimated five or six die every day.
The commission, which was established in June with the aim of completing its work in five years, is not charged with determining innocence or guilt but with creating a historical account of the residential schools, helping people to heal and encouraging reconciliation.
A year ago, the government formalized a $1.9-billion compensation plan for victims, and in June, Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a historic apology for the residential school system, calling it a "sad chapter" of Canadian history.