Trudeau calls for ‘renewal’ of relationship with First Nations
- 8 years ago
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday Canada must forge ahead with a "total renewal" of its relationship with First Nations peoples.
Trudeau called for the change in a speech to hundreds of chiefs gathered in Gatineau for a special meeting of the Assembly of First Nations , the country's largest indigenous political group.
The prime minister said the new relationship with First Nations must recognize that the "constitutionally guaranteed rights of First Nations in Canada are not an inconvenience but rather a sacred obligation."
He said mandate letters issued to cabinet ministers clearly stated that no relationship is more important to the prime minister than the one with First Nations, Metis and Inuit.
The previous Conservative government increased funds for First Nations schools as part of a bill that would have reform the system and introduced new standards.
Trudeau called for the change in a speech to hundreds of chiefs gathered in Gatineau for a special meeting of the Assembly of First Nations , the country's largest indigenous political group.
The prime minister said the new relationship with First Nations must recognize that the "constitutionally guaranteed rights of First Nations in Canada are not an inconvenience but rather a sacred obligation."
He said mandate letters issued to cabinet ministers clearly stated that no relationship is more important to the prime minister than the one with First Nations, Metis and Inuit.
The previous Conservative government increased funds for First Nations schools as part of a bill that would have reform the system and introduced new standards.