The federal, provincial and territorial governments met with the Assembly of First Nations, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Native Women’s Association and the Métis National Council on October 29 to discuss how to improve quality of life for Canada’s First Nations.
This was the first time that Aboriginal affairs ministers have met with these groups in over four years at the first ministers’ meeting on Aboriginal issues at the summit on Aboriginal Affairs.
According to CTV news, Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Minister Brad Duguid, who chaired the meeting, said that “each and every one of us recognizes there are huge socio-economic gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in this country.”
What emerged from the daylong talks was a goal between all of the parties to present recommendations on two key priorities, education and economic development.
The ministers and First Nations leaders also discussed the need for Canada to address its missing and/or murdered 520 Aboriginal women who have remained unaccounted for.
Though the First Nations leaders applauded the opportunity to work with the different branches of government and coordinate their efforts in improving quality of life for Aboriginals, nothing is set in stone yet. For as much as the Aboriginal leaders, the provinces and territories agreed to work towards a first ministers’ meeting in 2010 on Aboriginal issues, Ottawa has yet to make a commitment towards this.
