In a brief interview Monday in Yellowknife, Ethel Blondin-Andrew (left) said she was disappointed in how the Reform Party released a report on the state of the Western Arctic and with what it contained.
by P.J. Harston
Northern News Services
In a brief interview Monday in Yellowknife, Ethel Blondin-Andrew (left) said she was disappointed in how the Reform Party released a report on the state of the Western Arctic and with what it contained.
Reform Indian Affairs Critic John Duncan released the report, called 'Whither Bound? The Western NWT After Nunavut' last week in Edmonton.
The report calls the proposed constitution for the Western Arctic -- released last October in Yellowknife -- undemocratic and divisive. The report recommends it be shelved indefinitely.
"I'm a little disappointed in John Duncan, whom I met in Fort Norman at a square dance last summer, one dark night. I really don't think that constitutes any kind of expertise on constitutional issues," said Blondin-Andrew.
She said the Reform Party's "colonialistic" view won't wash after 25 years of constitutional development here and with a document that's in the midst of a Northern constitutional process.
"I'm very much a supporter of our leadership in the North. I really believe that Northerners are going to determine their own goals and priorities," she said.
"The North is very politicized, people know their politics, they know their issues and I think this is a Northern draft that is going to go back to the people for further discussion."
When asked why the federal government had not yet responded to the proposed document put together last summer and fall by a small group of MLAs and aboriginal leaders, Blondin-Andrew evaded the question.
However, she did say that she has discussed the proposal with Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Ron Irwin and other federal colleagues and has recommended they take a cautious approach.
It has been speculated that Ottawa's slow response to the document and hesitation to negotiate a budget for the public constitutional process with Northerners is a result of Irwin's opposition to some of the proposal's contents.
"We've (Irwin and Blondin-Andrew) had some discussions. I have warned people who are not from the North to be cautious, to use a bit of a wait and see (attitude) when you have a rolling draft," she said.
"When you have a process that's not ended you should resource it -- ensure that the resources needed to do the job are there."