Statement following the Crown-First Nations Gathering held on January 24
on Jan 27 in Latest Press Releases by adminStatement following the conclusion of the first Crown-First Nations Gathering
On Tuesday January 24th, representatives of First Nations communities met with officials from the federal government, in an historic Crown-First Nations Gathering. Among others, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Governor-General David Johnston, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister John Duncan, and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo were in attendance.
The theme of the gathering was “Strengthening Our Relationship–Unlocking Our Potential,” and it was meant to provide, in Minister Duncan’s words, “an opportunity for a practical and frank discussion on how we can work together to improve the quality of life and economic prosperity of First Nations in Canada.”
An excerpt from a statement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the gathering:
“John George Diefenbaker was, in many ways, the initiator of the modern era of Crown – First Nations relations. It was he who named the first First Nations member to the Parliament of Canada, Senator James Gladstone in 1958. And, it was he who, two years later, extended to aboriginal Canadians living on reserves the right to vote in national elections. In addressing that long-standing and fundamental injustice, he was a man ahead of his time and in many ways, an apt inspiration for today’s proceedings. [...] It is in no small part the vision and conception of the National Chief that has led to this gathering today, and I know we all congratulate him for that leadership.”
National Chief Shawn Atleo had the following to say in his closing remarks on Tuesday:
“Today was an important day in advancing our call to “renew” the relationship between First Nations and Canada. I thank the Prime Minister and all of the Cabinet for being here with us throughout the day as well as the important Regional Roundtable yesterday … these are critical opportunities to be heard and to begin the dialogue needed. [...] First Nations demonstrated that today: we have the answers. We are the prime movers in change and we must be full partners in this important work. We will settle for nothing less.”
The Macdonald-Cartier Society closely followed the meeting as it developed. During the meeting on Tuesday, SMCS Founder Immanuel Giulea stated that:
“In light of recent events such as the Attawapiskat crisis, the expectations for this Gathering are quite high. All my hopes are that the meeting today is the first step to finally completing Confederation, 145 years after the process was started in 1867. I agree with Mark Starowicz who recently wrote in the Globe and Mail that ”The Confederation project is incomplete. As we approach our 150th anniversary as a nation, and as we prepare to celebrate who we are, there’s still time to imagine who we could become.”
After the meeting, Giulea said,
“We at the Macdonald Cartier Society see the Gathering of this week as a concrete step forward to improve Crown-First Nations relations in Canada. We hope that the partners in the Crown-First Nations Gathering will maintain the relationship through an ongoing dialogue that outlines clear goals and measures of progress and success and that the commitment to work together and release a progress report in January 2013 will be followed on. The Society looks forward to working with First Nations, Metis, Inuit, and Innu youth as we develop our programs in the future, and hearing their visions of tomorrow’s Canada.”
Comments are closed.