First Nations funding cuts raise anger of leaders

Funding cuts targeting Aboriginal political organizations and tribal councils, announced by the federal government on Sept. 4, have raised the ire of First Nations leaders across Canada.
Calling the funding cuts “a political attack” and a “divide and conquer strategy,” Aboriginal political organizations decried the plan to cut core funding by 10 per cent and eliminate the political advisory roles of tribal councils.
“It is clear to me that Canada has three objectives when it comes to First Nations people – divide, control and conquer,” said Anishinabek Nation Grand Chief Patrick Madahbee. “Our people need to know that they are under attack. The unilateral, incremental changes to policy and legislation regarding First Nation land, water and rights are in direct violation of Constitutional rights, treaty rights and even international human rights that Canada has endorsed.”
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (AANDC) Minister John Duncan announced the cuts on Sept. 4. In a press release the government claimed it intends to focus federal funding on “shared priorities.”
The AANDC announcement involves either reducing the core funding of all regional and national Aboriginal organizations by 10 per cent, or implementing a $500,000 ceiling on their funding.
The reduction in core funding will be as high as 80 per cent for some organizations, as for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) where the current core funding of $2.6 million will be capped at $500,000.
AMC Grand Chief Derek Nepinak called the funding cuts "a direct attack on the political voice of First Nations communities across the country.”
While the government did not announce any specific cuts to program funding, it did state that there will be “gradual reductions in the amount available for proposal-based project funding.” Reductions in program funding will start in 2013-2014, while the 10 per cent reduction in core funding takes affect in 2014-2015.
Duncan said the government plans to bring the funding changes in gradually over two years to minimize the impact on First Nations organizations.
“This will allow Aboriginal organizations to adapt their operations, and should they desire to do so, seek out new funding sources,” an AANDC press release stated.
Duncan also said reporting requirements for funding will be streamlined to ease the paperwork burden on First Nations organizations.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Harvey Yesno said NAN is waiting on the details of the announcement to better understand the effect of the cuts.
Yesno said that while NAN communities still desperately need increased funding for services such as education and infrastructure, he was glad to see that essential services will not be targeted in the planned funding cuts.
Talking about the effect on NAN itself, Yesno acknowledged that the organization will have to look at where it can cut when the funding reductions come into place.
“We’re going to have to make some tough decisions on how we’re going to go forward,” Yesno said.
Also as part of the announcement, tribal councils across Canada will see funding for First Nation advisory services cut over the next two years.
Tribal council funding will now fall under a three-tired system, based on the population served by the tribal council and the number of First Nations within the council.
Tier one tribal councils, serving two to five member First Nations with an on-reserve population of less than 2,000 people, will receive $200,000 per year. The largest tribal councils will receive $500,000 per year for operations.
Band advisory services in the areas of economic development, financial management, community planning, technical services and band governance, currently performed by tribal councils, will be eliminated in 2014-2015.
The government stated that national, specialized institutions such as the Aboriginal Financial Officers' Association, the First Nations Financial Management Board and the Aboriginal Economic Development Board will now provide those advisory services for individual First Nations.