Photo courtesy Twitter, @GCIndigenous
Several Aboriginal leaders and minister’s responsible for Indigenous affairs gathered in Ottawa today for the first ever Federal-Provincial-Territorial-Indigenous Forum.
The forum brought together ministers responsible for Indigenous affairs and the leaders of five national Indigenous organizations including the AFN, the Metis National Council, the Native Women’s Association of Canada, Inuit Tapirit Kanatami and the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.
The new form aimed to find ways to benefit outcomes for Indigenous people in Canada.
“I am pleased to confirm the Government of Canada is lo longer absent at these discussions,” said Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennet. “Reconciliation is about all Canadians and today we made progress on closing the socio-economic gap facing the nation’s Indigenous population.”
A number of important issues were on the table during the forum including the TRC Calls to Action, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people and ways to close the socio-economic gap for Indigenous Canadians.
“AFN’s aim is to revitalize these meetings to ensure tangible, measurable results for our people that close the gap in the quality of life between First Nations and Canada.” said AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde. “We want to use this new forum to achieve positive change on key priorities.”
In addition to the discussions there was an agreement to move forward in cooperation in the process of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
“I am hoping that the Forum will serve as a means of realigning all jurisdictions toward building nation-to-nation relationships with First Nations, the Métis Nation and the Inuit on the road to reconciliation,” said Metis National Council President Clem Chartier.
According to a Government news release the FPTIF will provide national leadership to ensure a strong future for Indigenous peoples across the country.
Ministers and Leaders agreed to meet annually to discuss progress on these activities.