Last week, a motion passed behind closed doors to have Aboriginal people sit, as permanent members, on the House of Commons Standing Committee for Aboriginal Affairs. The rationale for the motion is based on an inaccurate argument that Aboriginals are not adequately represented on the Committee.

The motion called for the five federally-recognized and federally-funded Aboriginal groups to send a representative to sit as active - and permanent - members of the Committee. These members will have the same rights as elected Members of Parliament, such as the ability to ask questions, however; they will not be allowed to vote.

This idea was the brain-child of NDP MP Pat Martin who argues there needs to be more Aboriginal inclusion on the Committee. Mr. Martin is quoted as saying, "It was so obvious to me that a bunch of white men in suits were sitting around the table passing laws affecting lives [of aboriginal people] and they were waiting their turn for a lousy five minutes at the table as witnesses."
Newsflash for Pat Martin - Aboriginals are represented on the Committee.

Currently there are four elected Members of Parliament who self-identify as Aboriginal. Three of the four sit as permanent members on the House of Commons Standing Committee for Aboriginal Affairs. They are: Ms. Nancy Karetak-Lindell, an Inuit-Canadian, Mr. Rick Laliberte, a Métis-Canadian, and Mr. Lawrence O'Brien, a Métis-Canadian. Ms. Ethel Dorothy Blondin-Andrew, is Native-Canadian and sits as an associate member of the committee.

Aboriginal people make up less than 4 per cent of the Canadian population. Prior to Mr. Martin's proposal being adopted, 18 per cent of the 16 member Committee was comprised of Aboriginal people. By adding an additional five non-elected Aboriginal permanent members to the Committee - which will now have 21 members - Aboriginals will comprise 38 per cent of the Committee. That's a ratio 9.5 times more than the Aboriginal population in Canada as a whole. This could be interpreted as over-representation.

The point of having an elected Parliament is so the people of the country will be represented in the House. Canadians elect Members of Parliament - currently from 301 different constituencies - from all corners of the country to represent them and their communities. If constituents feel they have been poorly represented they have the opportunity to vote the Member of Parliament out of office. Hence there is a degree of accountability.

Regrettably, Canadians will not have any degree of accountability for the new members of the Committee. And, to add insult to injury, Canadian taxpayers will pay the expenses for these unelected and unaccountable members.

Pat Martin may have thought his motion would strengthen democracy. Unfortunately, his meddling will only lead to a weaker and more unaccountable system.