Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde has officially hit the campaign trail in his quest to become the next leader of the Assembly of First Nations.
Nominations closed earlier this week and Bellegarde is one of three candidates vying or the AFN’s top job.
The other two candidates are Chief Leon Jordaine of the Lac La Croix First Nation in northwestern Ontario and AFN Quebec and Labrador regional Chief Ghislain Picard.
The AFN has been in disarray in recent months after former chief Shawn Atleo stepped down earlier this year as the result of a dispute with other leaders over the Harper government’s First Nations education act.
Bellegarde says there is some work to do in terms of building trust with First Nations leaders across the country.
“It’s all about bringing people together,” he says. “As a AFN, you’ve got to open doors for leadership and you’ve got to have access to governments, not only federal but provincial governments, and you’ve got to open those doors so our issues can be dialogued and discussed and have a very open, frank discussion and things that you can agree on, you move forward.”
Atleo was criticized for being too close and soft on the Harper government.
For his part, Bellegarde has shown he is not afraid to stand up to the government recently blasting the Conservatives at a United Nations Assembly in New York when a Harper official spoke against a motion to move forward on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
He says there are always going to be times when it is necessary to disagree with government.
“You’ve got to stand up for what’s right. You’ve got to stand up for the rights of our people and that’s what you’ve got to do at all levels. You’re not always going to be cozy with government, you’ve got to have access to open doors but you’ve got to also, as well, be able to have the fortitude to stand up and defend the rights of your people.”
Ghislain Picard is currently the interim leader of the AFN.
Bellegarde also ran for the AFN leadership in 2009 and lost to Shawn Atleo on the eighth ballot.
The election for AFN chief will take place Dec. 10 in Winnipeg.
An all-candidates forum for the three leadership contenders was also held in Winnipeg on Thursday.
At the forum, Leon Jourdain told the audience he isn’t in favour of development deals that only give temporary jobs to local members while draining natural resources permanently.
Perry Bellegarde continued to stress he wants to see a team approach brought to the AFN while Ghislain Picard says the organization should become more equitable.
Jourdain also took the opportunity to address allegations made against him in a national newspaper.
He confirmed that he had been charged in the past with impaired driving but says he has been alcohol free for many years.
Jourdain also acknowledged a charge of sexual assault had been previously laid against him but said the matter was later dropped.