STATEMENT BY CONGRESS OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLES
NATIONAL CHIEF PATRICK BRAZEAU ON THE
FEBRUARY 2008 FEDERAL BUDGET
(Ottawa, ON – February 26, 2008) In our view, yesterday’s federal budget was a frugal one, emphasizing fiscal caution and prudent spending.
While supportive of its tax-saving measures, which will assist the off-reserve constituency, we continue to call on the federal government to increase the degree of accommodation to which they have committed, for those Aboriginal peoples living off-reserve.
Mr. Harper promised a number of measures to CAP during the 2006 election campaign. While many of these have been realized, there are few directly intended for those living off-reserve that have yet to be realized.
We will continue to work with this government, and with Provincial governments, to see that progress is made in yielding real and sustainable improvements in quality of life for Canada’s off-reserve Aboriginal community.
There are many today across the Aboriginal leadership, calling for more money. We believe that such calls are premature; Before we, as an Aboriginal community, stand up and demand more money, efforts must be made to assess, with certainty, where the current $10.1 billion spent annually on Aboriginal peoples and organizations is going.
Canada and its Aboriginal people have a right to know where the money is going and that it is reaching the peoples for whom it was intended.
We believe strongly that the Government of Canada and the Aboriginal leadership across this country must begin to deal with this. If we do not collectively tackle this issue head-on, it may potentially become one of Canada's worst boondoggles.
Patrick Brazeau National Chief
Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
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For further information, please contact:
Al Fleming
Director
Public Affairs
613-747-6022 (office)
613-867-8696 (mobile)
al@abo-peoples.org
