I’m holding a copy of a major newspaper, dated October 19th two thousand and... I’m sorry, I can’t read the actual date very clearly but it is definitely in the not too distant future.

I like what I’m reading, though. It says here that Aboriginal people in Canada - about two million in number according to the most recent census - have finally achieved victory, a sense that they have come home to the land of their ancestors.

It goes on to say that the Indian Act has been abolished - replaced by an Aboriginal Peoples’ Act, as recommended by a Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples back in 1996.

In essence, this new act places all Aboriginal people in Canada on an equal footing as first citizens of the country. It adds that 66 traditional Aboriginal Nations -including the Ojibway Nation, Cree Nation, Mi’kmaq, Mohawk and Algonquin Nations - come under the parliamentary - recognized order of self government.

No longer are the less than 25 per cent of the Aboriginal population - those living on Indian Act reserves - the only ones covered by and receiving benefits from federal legislation.

The article goes on to state "Aboriginal leaders agree that such parity among the constitutionally recognized Indian, Inuit and Metis has followed a long and tortuous path getting to this point, but are confident that the new legislation, coupled with the creation of a new department of Aboriginal Affairs, will go a long way to righting the past wrongs and securing a bright future for the country’s first citizens."

It concluded "Many also see it as the foundation on which Aboriginal people can build a more effective and mutually beneficial relationship with federal, provincial and territorial governments in the country, and with fellow Canadians."

Wait a minute, am I dreaming?

I hope not. I hope what I just read to you becomes a reality for Aboriginal people in Canada - sooner, rather that later.

It is what we off-reserve Aboriginal people have been struggling for since day one, the right and proper place we deserve within this country we call Canada.

That has been the missing link all along for us and that is why we are here today, and why we do what we do as elected leaders.

I know there is little doubt that I have had many lives as an Aboriginal person in my 50 plus years because of always being on the outside looking in.

As a child of a white father and a Mi’kmaq woman in Nova Scotia, I was once considered Metis, - then I became a Non Status Inidian - then I became a Status Indian, then treaty.

One could say I’ve been an off-reserve, non-status, half breed, status, treaty, Mi’kmaq.

That would be enough to cause an identity crisis for most people.

But you know what? Throughout all this there has been one constant that resides in my soul and courses through my veins.

It is that I am a Mi’kmaq man, a member of the Mi’kmaq Nation in the Atlantic Provinces, Quebec and New England. Nothing, no piece of legislation, no regulation, no decree, no statement of any kind can ever change that unalterable fact.

That is my identity and I wear it proudly, just as you lay claim to your Aboriginal ancestry, no matter what your nation may be.

You know, citizenship comes when you are born, and can be changed from one state to another. It can be denied or revoked, and you can have more than one.

But we can’t change who we are - our cultural identity begins at the moment of conception.

And when I see fair and equitable legislation passed, like an Aboriginal peoples Act, when I see department of Aboriginal Affairs created, and this long overdue recognition entrenched, I will truly say that I can rest at home.

And I will truly say that my children and their children to come will be able to echo my sentiments.

I trust you feel much the same way.

But you and I both know that we are not there - yet.

For certain, that is why I have spent 25 years of my life, at the provincial and federal levels fighting the battles I have fought on behalf of more than 800,000 off-reserve Aboriginal people living in urban, rural and remote areas throughout Canada - the natural constituency of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.

The fastest growing segment of Canada’s population.

I would say that most Canadians do not realize that more than 73 per cent of all Aboriginal people in this country do not live on Indian Act Reserves, nor do they receive any recognition in nor benefits from provisions of the Indian Act.

You know as well as I that when they see an Aboriginal person they think we are wards of the department of Indian Affairs.

They think of the Assembly of First Nations and its leadership. But in reality, that counts for less that a quarter of all Aboriginal people in Canada.

People who doubt us need only do the math, courtesy of Stats Canada.

About 1.4 million people of Aboriginal ancestry live in Canada. Some 300,000 or so live on reserves, leaving more than a million registered Indians, non-status Indians, Metis and Inuit floating around on the edges.

Then there is the infamous $7.5 billion reportedly being spent on Aboriginal people and issues these days.

Because of the publicity surrounding this money, and a media so focused on First Nations bands and their leadership, Canadians could be forgiven for thinking that we off-reserve people are beneficiaries of this largess.

But we know that is clearly not the case. We get some program money here and there but more that 90 per cent of this money goes to First Nations organizations and band councils for Indian Act reserves.

That is wrong. It doesn’t make any sense, nor does it do any good for the majority of Aboriginal people in Canada.

If this were true of any other group in society do you believe that would stand for this? I think not.

One thing is abundantly clear.

The "Aboriginal problems" in this country will never go away under the restrictive provisions of the current Indian Act, or the distorted way in which money is targeted to Aboriginal people and issues.

This is a message all of us have to keep driving home - to governments, the news media and the Canadian public - that the greatest number of Aboriginal people in Canada are getting the short end of the stick.

It’s not only my job, but yours - at the provincial, territorial and local levels. As leaders, we must be carrying this very important message with us at all times to everyone we meet, and repeating it until they get it right.

That message is the cornerstone of our creditability and our right to fight for our people.

It’s a question of fairness.

It is true that the Congress of Aboriginal People can lay legitimate claim to working for the interest of the largest number of Aboriginal people in Canada because that is exactly what we have done for the three decades, and that is what we continue to do.

Through the very limited resources we have had to work with over the past 30 years, we have punched well over our weight as national, provincial and territorial political organizations.

Winter Warmth, Residential Rehabilitation, Rural and Native Housing, employment creation, programs, playing significant role in the James Bay Agreement, ensuring that Indian, Inuit and Metis peoples and their rights obtained official recognition in the Constitution of Canada, helping Aboriginals regain their status under Bill C-31, fighting for political Accord for off-reserve Aboriginal people. Just a partial list of the efforts by the Native Council of Canada, now the Congress of Aboriginal People.

Then, more recently, the launch of a National Aboriginal Workplace Strategy and an all-out attack on diabetes among Aboriginal people who do hot happen to live on First Nations reserves and receive benefits form the Indian Act, our active involvement in consultations on the Corbiere decision, and now on the First Nations Governance Initiative, and many other key initiatives in which we are taking a leadership role.

Fellow delegates, this country needs a wakeup call - one that results in fairness to everyone - to First Nations people on reserves, to off-reserve Aboriginal people, and yes to other Canadians.

We have to find ways of achieving our goals and dreams together positively and cooperatively as Canadians, whether we are Aboriginal or not.

Tragedies in New York and Washington after the horrible attacks on September 11 are proof that we are living in a very different world.

Aboriginal people are not immune to the repercussions of this terrible phenomenon or to any future acts of terrorism.

But I believe we can find solutions together, just as the world community will do in the fight against terrorism.

That is the basis on which I propose we prepare for the future.

For the Congress of Aboriginal People - and that include all of you at the provincial, territorial and community levels - we must be prepared to take a strong leadership role in many areas:

We must do our part in helping government and our people pave the way for the debate and eventual passage of an Aboriginal Peoples Act that is fair, equitable and inclusive, that is status and residency-blind.

That means working with all levels of government and others to scope out what such legislation could practically and realistically accomplish.

We must do our part in advancing the wishes of our people as recommended by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People report, such as the creation of a department of Aboriginal Affairs that can enact policies and programs that are fair, and equitable and inclusive.

We must do our part to ensure that cultures and traditions not only survive, but flourish, for the they bring values and lessons not only to us but to all Canadians - values and tolerance, caring and sharing.

If we want to benefit, we must do our part and continue to participate and contribute. That’ what teamwork and partnership is all about...

This is not dreaming in Technicolour!

This is planning for the future, setting an agenda and showing our potential partners that we have the knowledge, the experience and the will.

With your endorsement and their realistic support, we will succeed.

If I didn’t believe that, I’d pack my bags and go home.

It is my view that if we are to have harmony within, we need also to have harmony in our surroundings.

And I fail to see how we can possibly visualise a bright future for our children id we only see them in our shadows.

That is, we have to look outward from the well worn path of our present and past experiences and make a new trail, one that our children can led their children along.

The greatest potential for promising futures lies within a longer term strategy for off-reserve Aboriginal people, a plan than includes realistic goals and setting a space that moves us forward to measurable gains.

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples also pointed out that if we do not get these issues and problems now - together - they will only pile on top of one another until they become totally unmanagable and beyond anyone’s resources to cope with.

It is not a future anyone I know would to contemplate.

That is why I am heartened by the fact that there are people of good will and common purpose among us - both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal - in government and elsewhere - who will work with us to see a better day for aboriginal people in Canada.

Let me explain why I chose to make this presentation today.

As your National Chief I believe we need to be in tune with each other. It is as important for you to know my views as it is for me to know yours.

It is you, the people who determine our agenda. It is my job to determine how best we can achieve and advance that agenda.

That’s the way we must come together, as equals, as partners, and in harmony - together as proud members of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.

It is then that we take a back seat to nobody.

Something to think about as we celebrate our thirty-year history.