Aboriginal government in Canada today is bloated, ineffective, undemocratic and rife with nepotism, with per capita costs approaching $17000 compared to $1800 for Canadian municipalities.http://www.nationalpost.com/ If Chief Atleo is serious about replacing the Indian Act, this is where he should begin. If he can provide a new framework for transparent, democratic and affordable governance that can be demonstrated to work efficiently over a number of years within a representative sample of reserves throughout the country, he will be on the right track to convincing Canadians of the benefits of replacing the outmoded Indian Act.

However, any calls to do away with the Indian Act without first providing tangible results of a more effective system of governance will fall on deaf ears and Canadian politicians of all stripes would be well advised to realize this as well or suffer the electoral consequences.