Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the member some questions about the aboriginal funding initiatives that she mentioned were announced in the throne speech. This is the only area in the last budget to receive an increase in funding. Spending on Indian and northern affairs is now more than $6 billion a year which, as someone worked out, is the equivalent to $32,000 per annum for every man, woman and child in the aboriginal community. It is quite a lot of money already.
Yet in Alberta and northern B.C. in polls that were mainly aboriginal the member will probably be surprised to learn that the people in those polls voted Reform in the last election. The reason they did that is in a lot of native communities the structure of the bands is not very democratic. As the auditor general pointed out, about 20 percent of bands are in financial difficulties because they either improperly manage or are incapable of managing the money they get.
Many rank and file band members recognize this as a problem but because there is no democratic structure within the band, it is a hierarchical chief system, they have no way of controlling expenditures or ensuring they get their share. I see that on the Squamish Indian reserve within my riding. I get complaints from band members there who are shut out of the process, who cannot get a home, who are not allowed to open a business, who cannot do things because they are not related to the chief, and there is no way they will ever get the money.
Would the member identify any initiative of this government to first make sure there are democratic processes in place to make sure this money she is talking about will truly get down to the end user instead of being given once again to people who perhaps are incapable of managing or who improperly manage the money?