Alliance candidate accuses Liberals of suppressing aboriginal peoples
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Fort Simpson (Nov 20/00) - With Liberal allegations of racism against the Canadian Alliance, Western Arctic candidate Fred Turner has fired back.
During a campaign stop in Fort Simpson Thursday, he said the Liberals' treatment of aboriginals has been "shameful." Referring to the actions of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) against aboriginal fishers in Burnt Church, New Brunswick he said, "They hit them in the head with sticks like animals."
He also cited three instances in the NWT where he said federal departments failed to prosecute companies but two occasions where First Nations were charged and fined in court for environmental violations.
"There must be a lot of hatred within the Department of Fisheries and Oceans towards native people. That's they only way I can see it," he said.
That sort of treatment results in high rates of crime among aboriginal people, he said.
"Their answer is to build a $35 million jail and put some more aboriginal people in it," Turner said of the government. "There's no effort to address preventative measures... it's time for a new approach."
In response to Liberal Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan's remarks that the Alliance party is affiliated with racists and bigots, Turner said those members were kicked out of the party.
"I don't view (the Alliance) as a racist party. It's not tolerated," he said. "I'm a very compassionate person, a lot of people in the Alliance party are."
On the issue of aboriginal land claims and self government, Turner said "the Alliance party is supportive of having government closest to the people it's representing."
Specifically, he said he wasn't informed enough to say whether the Alliance would be agreeable to the Deh Cho Process, which endeavours to establish a public government based on Dene values and customs.
He suggested that some polarization still exists between aboriginals and non-aboriginals in the North.
"I believe I can act as a bridge between those two distinct cultures," said Turner, whose mother is Cree and whose father is from England.
Asked why some aboriginal leaders have encouraged their membership not to vote for the Alliance, Turner said the Liberals' suppressive regime is the reason for that. He said government funding for bands is often funnelled through chiefs, and in return some of them deliver the votes, he said.
Not all chiefs are reflecting the feelings of their membership, he contended, adding that some aboriginal leaders are supportive of the Alliance.
"There's a regional chief who told me he hopes we will get into government... I believe we will," he said.
