OTTAWA - Canada's top native chief says the Vancouver Olympics are a potential target for First Nations protest much like Beijing has been a flash point for Tibet supporters.

Phil Fontaine says native leaders will use whatever chance they can, including the 2010 Winter Games, to focus governments on aboriginal poverty.

Thousands of Canadians who've marched in support of a free Tibet should be "outraged'' by abysmal native conditions in their own country, he said Thursday.

"We'll take whatever opportunity is presented to us to state our case, to set the record straight, to tell Canadians the true story about our situation. They have to stand up and demand immediate action on the part of their government to fix this.

"We find the Tibetan situation compelling,'' Fontaine said when asked if the 2010 Olympics could be disrupted by the sort of protest that has dogged Chinese planners.

Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said he has heard such talk but finds it "a little odd.''

From job prospects to sports arenas, special effort has been made to ensure that the four First Nations located on Olympic grounds in B.C. share related wealth, he said.

"For the first time ever, indigenous people have a say in how the ceremonies are going to be conducted and how the benefits will be distributed. ...It's going to be an exciting Olympics for First Nations _ not just from the area but from across Canada. My hope is that they'll be respectful of that.''

Ernie Campbell is chief of the Musqueam First Nation, whose traditional lands comprised much of what is now Vancouver.

Negotiations for Olympic benefits are ongoing, he said, and he fully expects the Winter Games to draw demonstrators.

"I think that's a fact no matter where the Olympics are held. People are going to take that opportunity,'' whether they're native or non-native, he said.

The Assembly of First Nations has called for a peaceful, lawful day of national rallies and marches on May 29. Fontaine said it's just the beginning of what will have to be a long, sustained campaign for change.

He stressed that he hopes demonstrators will stay on the right side of the law. But some militant factions used a similar day of action last June to shut down highways and railroad lines.

Fontaine said he understands the frustration: his attempts to negotiate have been largely ignored by the Conservative government.

Strahl said he's not against legal demonstration. It can help make more Canadians aware of the basic needs _ including clean drinking water _ that are still lacking on dozens of First Nations, he said earlier this week.

The Conservatives scrapped the $5-billion Kelowna Accord negotiated by their Liberal predecessors, native leaders and the premiers that was meant to lift native living standards.

Instead, Strahl argues his government is taking a targeted approach to help speed native land-claim settlements and clean up polluted water.

Fontaine said that translates as federal apathy toward decrepit native housing, substandard schools and sporadic health services.

The Conservatives say First Nations must better account for $10 billion a year already spent by Ottawa on native programs _ starting with money-tracking audits.

Fontaine countered that chiefs have already agreed to an exhaustive auditing process and are willing to do more. Raising doubts about value for money is "an excuse'' for allowing many First Nations to subsist without decent classrooms, housing or water treatment systems, he said.

The assembly is also poised to reject a long-awaited official apology for residential schools abuse if the Conservatives use it as a political ploy to mute the May 29 day of action, Fontaine said.

"It's not about scoring political points,'' he said of the apology and overdue launch of a truth-and-reconciliation commission to hear from abuse survivors.

Fontaine is disturbed by rumours that the Conservatives will apologize the week before the planned demonstrations when the House of Commons is not sitting. He said it's vital that former students hear the prime minister say he's sorry in Parliament _ as was done to make amends for the Chinese head tax.

Moreover, Fontaine said the assembly has not been consulted on the language of the apology or a related ceremony.

Strahl said no date has been set but that speculation around the week of May 19 is "inaccurate.'' Fontaine and other aboriginal leaders will be asked for input before the government acts, the minister said.