Now admit it, you were trying to slam the post before doing the math....because of the poster.
No, I was just laughing at the fact that you posted a transparency document from CBC. Dem state broadcasters need to go!
Holy carp.. Harper is actually paying attention to first nations now (with bravado!)... I wunder how that happened? (must be another failure of the opposition)
PM plans 'historic' summit with First Nations
Will talk about ways to improve living conditions
OTTAWA -- Just after the federal government was raked over the coals by the opposition for its handling of the housing crisis on Ontario's Attawapiskat First Nation, the prime minister announced Thursday a meeting between First Nations and federal leadership will take place in late January.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement alongside the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn Atleo, on Parliament Hill.
The Jan. 24 meeting will bring together Harper, Atleo, Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan and a delegation of aboriginal leaders to discuss ways the government can improve the social and economic lot of remote reserves.
Earlier in the House of Commons, the government faced allegations it is incompetent and unwilling to address the human face of a housing crisis in Attawapiskat, in northern Ontario.
Harper told reporters he looked forward to the summit because it would allow for a dialogue about not just the challenges facing First Nations, but their opportunities as well.
He said the meeting would be "something that I think will be historic and I hope proves to be useful."
Earlier, debate was heated in question period, following an admission the previous day by Duncan that, despite repeated visits to the reserve by officials in his department, he did not know of the crisis until last week.
This revelation pushed interim NDP Leader Nycole Turmel to demand to know why, after so many visits to a community on the verge of crisis, federal officials had not sounded alarm bells. "No red flags were raised. Why? We need an answer," she said.
She slammed the government for focusing on the bottom line instead of the living conditions of residents, after the government announced Wednesday it was placing the reserve's finances under a third-party manager who will directly administer the band's funding from Aboriginal Affairs.
Neither the prime minister nor Duncan addressed repeated questions about a long-term plan for the community.
On Wednesday in committee, Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett asked Duncan when he found out about the crisis in Attawapiskat.
"After a painful 20-second pause, he answered 'last week... about Thursday,' " Bennett said.
Bennett then asked how Duncan could have become aware only last week about the housing shortage and deplorable living conditions, since the community itself had called a state of emergency a month ago.
PM plans 'historic' summit with First Nations - Winnipeg Free Press
