"Quebec Natives Reserve Right to Stay in Canada"

OTTAWA - Canada's Indians can profit greatly by setting off a bidding war for their loyalty between the federal government and Quebec in the upcoming referendum debate.

That's the approach Ovide Mercredi, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, is recommending this week to Quebec chiefs as they meet at Lac Delage, near Quebec City, to hammer out a strategy to deal with the new Parti Quebecois government.

"It would be a mistake for them to put all their eggs in the federal basket because it isn't very full," said Mercredi. "But it also would be a mistake for them to put all their eggs in the Quebec basket because it is still a question mark. But whatever happens in Quebec in terms of the recognition of Indian rights - it is going to impact the rest of the country."