Carrier Sekani Tribal Council Chief Terry Teegee is expressing mixed emotions over Shawn Atleo's decision to step down as head of the Assembly of First Nations.
On Friday, Atleo called a snap news conference and abruptly quit, saying he wanted to avoid being a distraction in the ongoing debate over the Conservative government's proposed changes to First Nations education.
Although not a supporter of Bill C-33, dubbed the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act, Teegee said he did not envy Atleo and the position he had held.
"You can't say he didn't try, he did his best," Teegee said Tuesday. "It's a difficult job and we have to say thank you to him."
Opponents have said that if passed, the legislation would strip away their rights and give the federal government too much control over the education of their children.
And while the government had committed an extra $1.9-billion to First Nations education, with $1.25-billion spread over three years starting in 2016, critics said that actually doesn't amount to much when spread over the country's 600-plus First Nations.
Teegee said B.C. First Nations put out a proposal a couple of years ago that would have provided more funding and noted per-pupil funding under Bill C-33 would still have remained below the amount public schools receive.
The B.C. First Nations proposal did not win broader acceptance, he said, because First Nations in other provinces that had signed treaties felt it did not do enough for them.
The AFN should have consulted its members more before deciding whether to support Bill C-33, Teegee said.
"I just don't think they went far enough in terms of a big bill like this," Teegee said. "They should've done a lot more outreach to the communities and basically got everybody's consent to put forward a bill that was created by us, by the First Nations of Canada."
There is still a place for the AFN, Teegee said, in trying to keep First Nations united, but cautioned the organization is not going to solve all their problems.
"We're going to have to work together and solve our own problems ourselves and in someway we have to use the AFN to put forward bills that are created by ourselves and that we would support," Teegee said.
He suspected Atleo's decision to support Bill C-33 was guided by a sense of urgency because he was in the last year of his mandate.
The executive committee of the Assembly of First Nations will lead the organization until a new leader is chosen to replace Atleo.
Quebec regional chief Ghislain Picard will be the executive committee's spokesman.
A special chiefs assembly is scheduled to be held in Ottawa on May 27-28 to discuss timelines for the leadership vote.
- with files from Canadian Press
