Assembly of First Nations national chief hopefuls Shawn Atleo, right, and Bill Wilson chat prior to an all-candidates debate at the assembly's meeting in Calgary on Tuesday. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press) Delegates from the Assembly of First Nations are set to vote in Calgary on Wednesday for a new national chief, who will be expected to take on a host of issues, notably aboriginal poverty and the spread of swine flu.
Some 639 First Nations chiefs are eligible to cast ballots at the AFN's annual general meeting. The first ballot will be held in the morning, with results expected by the afternoon.
With five candidates running, several ballots are expected вЂ" it's anticipated subsequent votes will go every two hours.
Extreme poverty in First Nations communities will likely dominate the new leader's agenda, said Phil Fontaine, the outgoing chief, who led the assembly for nine years.
"The person that comes in is going to have to continue to press our case in terms of Canada's single most important social-justice issue, and that's First Nations poverty. Our people are simply too poor," Fontaine said Tuesday in his opening remarks at the meeting.
The new leader will also have to contend with the spread of swine flu in First Nations communities, which Fontaine said he considers an "unacceptable" symptom of poverty. The H1N1 influenza strain blamed for at least 45 deaths across Canada has taken a disproportionate hold on reserves.
"The H1N1 flu, that's a scary situation and that's simply to do with poverty, severe overcrowding and no access to safe drinking water and poor access to quality health care," Fontaine said.
Five candidates are in the leadership race:
- Shawn Atleo, British Columbia businessman.
- Bill Wilson, British Columbia land claims treaty negotiator.
- John Beaucage, Ontario economist.
- Perry Bellegarde, Saskatchewan's Little Black Bear First Nation councillor.
- Terrance Nelson, Manitoba author and consultant.
Differing platforms
Atleo, vice-chief of the assembly for British Columbia, is the youngest candidate, at 42. Considered by many observers to be the frontrunner, Atleo promotes himself as a bridge builder and boasts a long history as a regional politician.
The key is a united native front across Canada to push for fair access to natural resources on traditional lands, Atleo told delegates Tuesday.
"We know economic independence is political independence. Economic power is political power."
Bellegarde told delegates his business background will help the AFN. He has said economic development and employment are among the priorities he would focus on as national chief.
Wilson, meanwhile, advocates less reliance on the federal government and more control over native resources. Nelson has similarly pushed for more aboriginal autonomy.
Nelson said he believes chiefs should negotiate directly with U.S., Chinese and other foreign investors desperate for natural resources.
"We don't need Ottawa. Ottawa needs you," Nelson said Tuesday.
Beaucage, the grand chief of Ontario's Anishinabek Nation and a former Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation economist, is calling for a hike in yearly funding for aboriginal programs.
With files from The Canadian Press