[1]A photo of the grand entry at the special chiefs meeting. Photo from the Assembly of First Nations
By Bradley Bennett [2]
BELLEVILLE – Chief Donald Maracle [3] of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte is heading to Ottawa this week to participate in an assembly to discuss policies, legislation, and funding for numerous First Nations projects.
There is an extensive agenda as the three-day assembly brings together chiefs from all over the nation to talk about a variety of issues.
One of the larger discussions that Chief Maracle hopes to comment on the funding model change to be designed by First Nations and based on the unique needs of their students, communities, and schools.
“There continues to be a long waiting list for post-secondary education and it is still chronically underfunded. (Local) schools are in need of repair and there are funds required for schools at the elementary level on a lot of the reserves,” Chief Maracle says as his main issues with education.
The Chief also intends to speak on the need for safe drinking water.
“Ontario receives 12.5 per cent of the national funds, but we have 22 per cent of the national population. So Ontario has not been given its fair share of the national funding,” he said.
This is a huge issue as in Ontario 60 per cent of 3,100 reserves across Canada have the boil water advisories.
In the 2016 federal budget, the government promised $1.8 billion for on-reserve water and wastewater treatment.
Another issue the chief wants to weigh in on a controversial, longstanding fight over taxation.
In 2013, the Canada Revenue Agency collected back taxes from a group of low-income indigenous women who had lost a legal battle to be exempt from paying personal income tax. They argued their employer was located on a reserve. The courts sided with the CRA.
Chief Maracle says this is more than an issue around unfair taxation; it’s more fundamental.
“There was never a proper political table to define the rights. So I don’t think these issues should be decided by the provincial court judge who knows very little about aboriginal history and their relationship with the crown.”
The three-day event is a special meeting of the chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations to discuss a host of overarching issues.
They will also discuss:
- Unlocking the remaining funding (approximately $665 million) committed in the 2016 federal budget for transforming First Nations education. Currently, this money is limited to school board funding. The new proposal would unlock this amount and combine it with the total budget for First Nations education.
- Replacing the funding model set by the federal Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs [4], which the Assembly of First Nations [5] calls “outdated and inadequate,” with something more region-based and predictable.
- Prevention of suicide and life promotion
- Bill C-3 and the gender equality in Indian Registration Act.
- Presentation on the Gordon Downie and Chanie Wenjack fund.
- A report on cannabis from the national working committee.
- An update on Murdered and Missing Indigenous women and girls
AFN Education Proposal Explainer [6] from QNet News [7] on Vimeo [8].