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Regional chief optimistic about First Minister’s meeting
Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse is hoping to see federal funds soon for First Nations health and housing, as well as education and economic development.

By Mike Aiken
Miner and News
Thursday October 06, 2005

Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse is hoping to see federal funds soon for First Nations health and housing, as well as education and economic development.

He’s also optimistic about the release of compensation for residential school survivors by March 31, 2006.

And all this money should go directly to band councils, he said Wednesday, during his visit to Big Grassy.

“Get it to the communities. That’s where it’s going to make the most impact,” he said.

Toulouse was selected in June to replace Charles Fox, who resigned early. He visited Treaty 3’s fall session of the National Assembly as part of consultations before the First Ministers’ Meeting on aboriginal affairs Nov. 25 in Kelowna, B.C.

The $700 million in aboriginal health money has been in the pipeline since the 2004 federal budget, and is supposed to flow to communities before the end of the year, according to Health Canada.

Similarly, $1 billion for aboriginal housing is in the works, Toulouse said.

“There’s still some hurdles that need to be overcome,” he acknowledged, noting one of the sticking points is the distribution of financing to bands in third party administration.

The regional chief is also taking up the torch on revenue sharing, and he spoke of renewing efforts to bring back Bill 97, which was quietly killed by the government earlier this year after it stalled in committee at second reading.

“In all our treaties, it speaks to revenue sharing agreements. We must have these treaties honoured,” he said.

A new $5-billion daycare agreement between the federal and provincial government also leaves room for optimism, as groups like the Sioux Lookout Area Management Board spell out how this new money could be used in Treaty 9 to alleviate some of their urgent needs.

Despite a population explosion in the North, 90 per cent of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation is without facilities, he said, criticizing the obvious discrepancies between northern and southern Ontario.

Toulouse also supported efforts to use provincial employees to help with the assessment of special needs on First Nations in Treaty 3, as long as it was clear who had the authority and jurisdiction, he cautioned.

With regards to youth, Toulouse noted the need for action on issues of importance to the new generation.

“It’s not all a lost cause,” he said, noting young people are part of the present, not just the future.

Toulouse will also hold consultations with chiefs at the end of the month in Toronto, before heading west in November. The First Ministers’ Meeting is described as the culmination of the prime minister’s aboriginal roundtable process, which started in April 2004.