Aboriginal leaders in Newfoundland and Labrador hope the Kelowna accord will top the list of priorities during Tuesday's meeting in Corner Brook between national aboriginal leaders and Canada's premiers.

The meeting will be the first of many this week for the Council of Federation, which is stopping in Corner Brook before proceeding to a three-day conference in St. John's.

Tuesday's meeting is intended to focus on closing the gap between native peoples and other Canadians.

The Kelowna accord, which was reached just days before last fall's federal election, was a five-year, $5-billion plan to improve the education, housing and health of aboriginal peoples.

So far, the new Conservative government has not honoured the agreement.
 
Tuesday's meeting in Corner Brook will be the first time national aboriginal leaders and premiers will have sat down as a group since the Kelowna accord was first developed.

Clement Chartier, president of the Metis National Council, said he would like to see the government honour the accord.

He said last year's agreement included badly needed money for Metis housing, education, health and child care.

"We want to, I guess, ensure that the premiers are still onside with us in terms of pressing the Harper government to honour the Kelowna agreement," said Chartier.

Brendan Sheppard, president of the Federation of Newfoundland Indians, said he was dubious about the Kelowna accord from the start — not because of what was in it, but because of when it was struck.

"It should have been at a time when an election actually wasn't in the makings," said Sheppard. 

"I think aboriginal people would look at it then as being a more sincere approach to giving aboriginal people of this country a better opportunity to move forward."

However, Sheppard said his opinion matters little because national aboriginal leaders will be at the table Tuesday, not regional leaders.

He said, however, that the meetings will provide local leaders with an opportunity to learn from their national counterparts.