Anishinabek Nation political update
Political Update – March 2015
Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee
Aanii,
The Political Office has been busy during 2015. We have been working diligently on behalf of the Anishinabek Nation. The following is a summary of some of the areas that we have focused on during the past few months.
The Anishinabek Nation sent a letter to the Premier requesting an Anishinabek summit, but we have not received a response to date. We have heard from individual Ministers who are willing to meet with us. It is important for the Anishinabek Nation to pursue initiatives directly with the government of Ontario as well as to participate with the Political Confederacy. The Anishinabek Ontario Action Plan has been developed, has been presented to the Premier, and is currently being updated by the Secretariat. We have also sent a letter to the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs requesting to schedule the next bi lateral meeting. We have met with the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, the Minister of Energy, and the Minister of Children and Youth Services during January and February.
The 2015 Grand Council will be held in Curve Lake First Nation on June 2,3,4, 2015 will be an election year for the Anishinabek Nation, Anishinabek Nation regions, and the Chiefs of Ontario. The Assembly of First Nations held their election in December and the term of the current National Chief, Perry Bellegarde will be effective until 2018.
The Anishinabek Nation has developed draft laws in consultation with Anishinabek First Nations in the areas of matrimonial real property and Anishinabek citizenship. I encourage the Anishinabek First Nations to review these draft laws and consider adopting these laws in consultation with your community. We are under constant threat of federal legislation in areas where we have not developed our own laws. Implementation of our own laws is a significant amount of work; however, it is worth the effort. Laws developed and implemented by our communities will always yield better results than laws made in Ottawa.
I hold the Health Portfolio for the Chiefs of Ontario and I have actively participated in many important meeting and events in this position. The 2015 Health Forum was recently held in Toronto and was a success. First Nation Health personnel and leadership from across Ontario attended this annual event hosted by the Chiefs of Ontario Health Sector.
The organization is being challenged with funding reductions. This has resulted in several long term staffing positions being reduced during the current fiscal year. The 2015/2016 plans are currently being developed, but we have not been advised of the funding levels that will be available. I would like to acknowledge the work of the staff who have planned and carried out many events in each of the four regions.
Deputy Grand Chief and I enjoy travelling to Anishinabek communities. We have visited almost all of our communities during the last year. If you would like to schedule us for events in your community please contact Lynn Bowerman, Executive Liaison, who manages our travel schedule.
The Political Confederacy has been developing a work plan to develop a new relationship with the government of Ontario as well as develop a comprehensive communications strategy for priority issues. We have been extensively involved in developing this work plan. We met with the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs on February 25, 2015 to further discuss the plan mandated by Ontario Chiefs.
I have attended the following events recently:
- Non Insured Health Benefits – joint review. I am the co-chair with Deputy Minister Sonny Perron.
- Chiefs Committee on Governance meetings
- Political Confederacy meetings
- Anishinabek Nation Mental Health
- Chiefs Committee on Health meetings
- Prescription Drug Use/Mis-Use Training
- Gathering for the Families of the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls
- Regional Chiefs meetings
- Numerous meetings on behalf or with Anishinabek First Nation leadership
Miigwetch,
Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee