Carolyn Bennett signs memorandum of understanding with National Chief Perry Bellegarde. Photo courtesy of Jed Johns.
Indigenous affairs minister Carolyn Bennett says she knows it is tough not be cynical, but she says her government wants to repair, rebuild and establish a new relationship with Canada’s First Nations people.
She made the pledge during an address to the annual meeting of the Assembly of First Nations in Niagra Falls Ontario. Bennett says 150 years of colonialism can’t be erased overnight, but she says the process is being fast tracked by her government. She says there is too much at stake to fail.
“The consequences would be real and too bitterly painful for our children, and for all of us,” said Bennett. “It could paralyze progress for a very long time and it would leave another generation behind.”
Bennett expects a lot of progress over the next year in time for the country’s 150th birthday.
The Assembly delegates also witnessed the signing today of a “historic” memorandum of understanding which launches work to develop a new fiscal relationship between First Nations and Canada. According to the AFN, it will lay the groundwork for a new era of stable, sustainable and predictable funding for First Nations towards closing the gap in the quality of life between First Nations and Canadians.