Sadly, the CP seems to be buying into Con spin on the status of the Kelowna Accord. The CP's
headline to its article on Phil Fontaine's attempt to ensure that the Accord is upheld:
Top aboriginal leader says Tories must live up to Liberal commitments
What Fontaine actually said:
These commitments - especially the Kelowna Accord intended to eradicate aboriginal poverty - were made with Canada, not any one political party, Fontaine told a meeting of the B.C. First Nations Summit.
"That wasn't done with the Liberal party," he said. "It was an agreement with the country. This government has to honour these very important commitments."
Whoever wrote the headline seems very much prepared to paint the Kelowna Accord as purely a Liberal creation, implying that there's unfairness in expecting the Cons to live up to it. But Harper himself has made clear that Liberal commitments to put Canadian troops in harm's way
are apparently sacrosanct and beyond review - even where our actual commitment is only for a fairly short span of time. And if Canada has an obligation to extend its military commitments without debate, then surely it also bears some obligation to place a historic deal with First Nations beyond partisan retraction.
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