The only serious proposal to reform aboriginal policy being debated in Canada is the First Nations Governance Act, although it is supported by neither Assembly of First Nations' Chief Phil Fontaine nor Paul Martin, who is widely expected to be our next prime minister. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation's Centre for Aboriginal Policy Change would like both of these
leaders to consider a new approach for aboriginal policy, one that leads to greater freedom of choice and equality rather than disparity.

The centre believes there should be three tenets: 1. the Indian Act must be phased out over 20 years; 2. reserve land should be transferred to individual band members living on and off reserve; and, 3. the funding structure of Indian bands needs to be re-examined, with an eye to greater accountability.

For almost 130 years, Indians have been segregated from Canadian society by the Indian Act. But treating one group of Canadians differently from the rest is wrong. Though the federal government has sole jurisdiction over native issues, that does not mean it must exercise it - there are no legal or constitutional barriers to ending the exercise of such jurisdiction. Consequently, the federal government can abolish the Indian Act and the polices of segregation at any time.

If native land were transferred from the Crown to individual band members, it would then be up to those individuals to decide if they want to transfer the land into a communal arrangement (not unlike Hutterite communities), allow
for the property to be owned and managed individually, or some combination of approaches.

The best way for native communities to reach long-term economic viability is allow individual private property rights. The key to generating wealth and prosperity is easily identifiable individual property that can be leveraged for loans and wealth creation. Most Canadians can borrow against their own private property and thus obtain capital to invest in new business ventures. Capital formation allows the expansion of the economy and accumulation of wealth. But, without property as collateral, people living on reserves have difficulty obtaining credit or doing deals with outside investors. In effect, the wealth of the land is underutilized.

More than $7 billion is spent by the federal government each year on aboriginal affairs. Under the Indian Act, there is little requirement for native governments to reveal their financial records to their members, let alone the federal auditor general or to taxpayers.

Accountability could be improved by having native governments collect taxes in the manner other levels of government do: through income taxes, property taxes and similar measures. Furthermore, the funding structure and whether
federal payments should be directed to band governments and chiefs, or to the individual band members for whom the support is needed, must be considered.

To increase awareness of tax dollars invested, and further increase accountability, the federal government could note on cheques directed to individual natives an amount that was being directed to the local native government. Such a system would reflect what other Canadians already see on their paycheques.

Simply rearranging federal transfers to individual natives will not reduce dependency. But it is a small step forward in the provision of greater freedom of choice and personal responsibility. It will encourage individuals to develop a process to decide what types of service they want their local government to provide.

Fontaine and Martin have an opportunity to reform aboriginal policy to end the current segregation and disparity. The Centre for Aboriginal Policy Change believes all Canadians are fundamentally alike. Legislation and government policy must be based on fairness and equality. It will only be through the elimination of the Indian Act that all Canadians will receive the same degree of freedom and enjoy the same rights and responsibilities.