Phil Fontaine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations | |
| In office 1997–2000 | |
| Preceded by | Ovide Mercredi |
| Succeeded by | Matthew Coon Come |
| In office 2003–2009 | |
| Preceded by | Matthew Coon Come |
| Succeeded by | Shawn Atleo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 20, 1944 Fort Alexander, Manitoba, Canada |
Larry Phillip Fontaine, OC OM (born September 20, 1944) is an Indigenous Canadian leader and former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. He best known for his central role in raising public awareness of the Canadian Indian residential school system and pushing to secure Federal and Papal apologies in 2008 and 2022 respectively. [1] [2] He also helped secure a repudiation of Discovery doctrine from Pope Francis on March 30, 2023. [3]
Early life
Fontaine, an Ojibwe, [4] was born at the Sagkeeng First Nation on the Fort Alexander Reserve in Manitoba, about 150 kilometers north of Winnipeg. His first language is Ojibway.
In his youth he attended a residential school operated by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate at Sagkeeng. He also attended the Assiniboia Residential School in Winnipeg and he graduated from Powerview Collegiate in 1961.
In 1973, Fontaine was elected Chief of the Sagkeeng community for two consecutive terms. Upon completion of his mandate, he and his family moved to the Yukon, where he was a regional director general with the Canadian government.
Political career
In 1981 Fontaine graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political studies. [5] After graduation, he worked for the Southeast Resource Development Council as a special advisor to the tribal council, which was followed by his election to the position of Manitoba’s vice-chief for the Assembly of First Nations. Fontaine was one of the Manitoba First Nation leaders who led the opposition of the Meech Lake Accord.
The Aboriginal Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission credits Fontaine for placing the issue of residential schools on the national agenda when in October 1990 he spoke publicly about the abuse that he and his fellow students had experienced at the Fort Alexander school. [6] The next year, in 1991, he was elected grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and served for three consecutive terms.
In 1997 he was elected national chief of the Assembly of First Nations for the first time. Following his first term as national chief, Fontaine was appointed chief commissioner of the Indian Claims Commission. Under his term the land claim of the Kahkewistahaw First Nation was resolved, resulting in a $94.6 million agreement for the Saskatchewan band. Fontaine resigned from the ICC in 2003 in order to run for national chief once again.
In July 2003, Fontaine was elected to his second term as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. He ran again and was re-elected in July 2006 with almost 76 percent of the vote, defeating Bill Wilson of British Columbia. [7] He was re-elected in 2006 on the basis of the "Getting Results" agenda, which proved to be successful. [8] In his third term, Fontaine said that he would attempt to bring the $5 billion Kelowna Accord negotiated in 2005 with the Liberal government of Paul Martin back to the table. The deal, aimed at improving living conditions and education for Aboriginal people, was cancelled by the succeeding Conservative government.
In 2005, Fontaine successfully negotiated the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, which will mean a financial contribution of more than $5 billion to survivors and programs for them. The IRSSA, which includes a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, was ratified by the federal Conservative government in May, 2006.
In June, 2007, Fontaine, Prime Minister Harper, and Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice announced a process to establish an independent tribunal to adjudicate Specific Land Claims.
Fontaine has two children, Mike and Maya (May-a), and seven grandchildren. His nephew Jerry Fontaine served as chief of the Sagkeeng Nation from 1989 to 1998, and was a prominent Aboriginal leader in Manitoba. Another nephew is Tim Fontaine, a former journalist and now comedy writer who created the satirical Walking Eagle News in 2017.
In 2005, he was recognized as number one of the Top 50 list of Capital People of 2005 selected by Ottawa Life Magazine. [8]
In 2009, he had a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in order to obtain an apology for abuses that occurred in First Nations schools during the 20th century. [9]
Since September 1, 2009, Fontaine acts as "Special Advisor" to the Royal Bank of Canada. His mandate is to "provide advice and counsel to RBC's Canadian businesses to help the company deepen its relationships with Aboriginal governments, communities, and businesses in Canada". [10]
On March 29, 2010, Fontaine joined Norton Rose OR LLP (formerly Ogilvy Renault) as Senior Advisor and advises Canadian and international clients with First Nations matters, including Aboriginal law, energy, environmental and mining and resources.
He was made an officer of the Order of Canada on December 30, 2012. [11]
In 2014, he was heckled by a group of Indigenous protestors at the University of Winnipeg due to his support for the Trans Mountain pipeline [12]
Awards and honorary degrees
- National Aboriginal Achievement Award, now the Indspire Awards (1996)
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Royal Military College of Canada (1999)
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Brock University (2004)
- Member of the Order of Manitoba (2004)
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from University of Windsor (2005)
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Lakehead University (2005)
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from University of Winnipeg (2008)
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from University of Western Ontario (2010)
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from University of Guelph (2010)
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Queen's University at Kingston (2010)
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Carleton University (2013)
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from University of Toronto (2017)
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from University of New Brunswick (2010)
References
- ^ "Phil Fontaine | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
- ^ "Pope's apology to Indigenous peoples for abuse at residential schools insufficient, Canada says". PBS NewsHour. 2022-07-28. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
- ^ Winfield, Nicole (March 30, 2023). ""Indigenous leaders hope Vatican's repudiation of oppressive colonial concepts leads to real change."". CBC News. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ "Former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations". Archived from the original on 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
- ^ "University of Manitoba, Distinguished Alumni". Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- ^ "Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future" (PDF). Executive Summary of the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. July 23, 2015. pp. 129–130. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ^ "CTV.ca | Fontaine promises to champion Kelowna Accord". Archived from the original on 2008-01-28. Retrieved 2006-07-28.
- ^ a b "Phil Fontaine, Secretary". CIER: Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources. [ dead link]
- ^ "Canadian natives to meet Pope in pursuit of healing". Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- ^ "rbc.com - RBC - Media Newsroom". www.rbc.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- ^ "Appointments to the Order of Canada". Governor General of Canada. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- ^ Steel, Debora (2014). "Former national chief of AFN, Phil Fontaine, heckled off stage". Vol. 31, no. 11. Windspeaker Publication. Retrieved 27 March 2021.