"Why does Chief Phil Fontaine seem so determined to frustrate the process of healing for residential school survivors and keep at bay reconciliation with non-aboriginal Canadians and our government?

It's a question worth considering, as Fontaine and the organization he leads, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), seem to be emerging as key players in the recent implosion of the Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Last week, commission chairman Justice Harry LaForme abruptly resigned. LaForme was eminently qualified to get the job done (a graduate of Osgoode Hall law school, a former member of two Indian commissions relating to land claims and a native Indian) so his resignation was an immediate red flag that the process had been derailed.

At first, it appeared LaForme resigned because the two other commissioners didn't share his vision for the commission and refused to acknowledge his authority as its chairman. In other words, it was a simple difference of opinion on bureaucratic governance. Ho hum.

But then came the bombshell allegations that the two commissioners were being openly influenced by the AFN and deliberately planned to outvote LaForme to carry out the AFN's wishes."

Get the Story:
Susan Martinuk: Phil Fontaine denying healing to native survivors (The Calgary Herald 10/31)

Related Stories:
AFN chief disputes meddling with commission (10/31)
Meeting held on residential school commission (10/30)
Meeting set over residential school commission (10/24)
'Truth' commissioner disagrees with former chair (10/23)
Chair of residential school commission resigns (10/21)
Non-Native leads 'truth' commission in Canada (10/09)