Liberal Dianna Cabott is turning up the heat on Kelowna-Lake Country incumbent MP Ron Cannan.

Cabott is accusing Cannan of being uninformed on the contentious issue of the Kelowna Accord.

The Accord was signed in Kelowna nearly three years ago with the blessing of the Liberal government and promised social and economic change for the country's aboriginal peoples. The Conservatives quashed the Accord after defeating the Liberals in the last federal election.

Cabott says she recently challenged Cannan on the Accord at an all-candidates forum.

She says Cannan replied that the Kelowna Accord was not fully costed and that it was written on the back of a napkin.

"What a callous, uninformed thing to say," says Cabott.

Cabott says that if she's elected, the Liberals will implement the Accord.

"I am firmly committed to the implementation of the Kelowna Accord so Aboriginal people can bring their quality of life and standard of living up to those of other Canadians," says Cabott.

She says the Liberals had set aside $19 billion for implementation of the Kelowna Accord. She says that money is still available if the Liberals are elected.

Cannan says Cabott and the Liberals don't have their facts straight.

"I am well aware of the history of the Kelowna Accord. I was standing outside the Grand Hotel in Nov. 2005 as bus loads of First Nations protested against the secret discussions that were taking place inside the Hotel."

He says there is no such thing as the Kelowna Accord.

"The difference between the Liberals and our Conservative Government is that the Liberals say that they signed the Kelowna Accord yet I asked several times for a copy of the agreement and never received a copy. The bottom line is that the Kelowna Accord like the Kyoto Agreement was not delivered. The Liberals had 13 years to try and help the First Nations people and then at the 11th hour they proposed an unfunded agreement."

Cannan points out that the Kelowna Accord is missing one main ingredient.

"The province of Quebec, as represented by the Assembly of First Nations' regional chief for Quebec and Labrador, Ghislain Picard, did not participate in the process and did not take part in Kelowna. It does not reflect a Canadian consensus."

Interview with Diana Cabott (Kelly Hayes)