Red tape, hostile land-owners and bureaucrats who don’t care were cited as just a few of the barriers facing First Nations leaders these days.
Chief David Meeches of the Long Plain First Nation spoke last night at a hearing of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples.
He says for years he has fought to add land to his reserve but with little success.
He explains there is no more crown land for sale in southern Manitoba and local land-owners want millions more than it’s worth.
Meeches says on top of that there are time-lines for things like Treaty Land Entitlement transfers which further adds to the problem.
Witnesses at the hearing heard there is a 12 step approval process for additions to reserve.