Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy is calling on the government to suspend its funding cuts and sit down to dialogue.
In advance of the Oct. 12 official visit to Canada from UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Chiefs of Ontario are expressing their opposition to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) funding reductions.
INAC announced changes to 2013-2014 funding agreements including reductions for Provincial and Territorial Aboriginal Organizations.
Funding reductions originally announced of up to 3o percent will actually be higher due to INAC’s change to their core funding policy. They have also shifted the funding approval process from regional offices, to centralized control at national INAC headquarters. In a letter to INAC Minister Bernard Valcourt, Beardy urged INAC and the federal government to suspend the funding reductions indefinitely and sit down with First Nation leadership for government-to-government dialogue.
“Taking away the voice of First Nations advocacy organizations is tantamount to taking away their integral role of promoting and defending Indigenous peoples’ human rights,” stated Beardy.
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