Native Parliament Senate Bill Enters New Phase

Native Parliament Senate Bill Enters New Phase

Thursday, May 08, 2008 at 14:46

An Aboriginal man hopes a bill he has introduced in the Senate will eventually lead to Canada’s First Peoples running their own affairs.

Debate on second reading of Bill S-234 began yesterday.

The bill calls for the creation of an Aboriginal Peoples’ Assembly in Ottawa — which would be democratically chosen, and include separate First Nations, Metis and Inuit assemblies.

Its mandate would be to investigate and deliberate over Aboriginal affairs — including rights, treaties, land issues and laws governing Aboriginal people.

Senator Aurelien Gill, who’s of Innu ancestry, says he hopes some form of what’s proposed in his bill eventually becomes reality.

The bill also calls for the gradual dismantling of the Indian Affairs department — but Gill admits he’s not sure how the government will respond to his bill, if it passes.