Leadership with the Nishnawbe Aski Nation will not be meeting with Ontario’s premier.
Thursday marks the seventh annual First Nations meeting. During the meeting, Premier Dalton McGuinty typically meets with First Nation groups from across Ontario throughout the day. Each representative is given 10 minutes to discuss specific issues with the premier.
In a news release issued to media Thursday morning, officials with NAN explained that their chiefs will not be taking part in the annual meeting.
NAN Chief Stan Beardy explains in the news release that the province did little to take NAN’s scheduling into account for the annual meeting.
The news release in its entirely is available below:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday May 17, 2012
NAN CHIEFS REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE IN
ANNUAL MEETING WITH ONTARIO PREMIER
THUNDER BAY, ON: Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) leaders sent a curt response to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty refusing to participate today in the 7th annual First Nations meeting where the Premier meets individually with First Nation groups from across the province over the course of day with each group only given ten minutes to address the Premier.
“We will not meet with the Premier and talk about our issues in the allotted time frame they give us,” said NAN Grand Chief Stan Beardy. “We don’t want to be involved with the revolving door process of lining up to meet with the province on their schedule. Our schedules should have been taken into consideration, as we spent the week at our spring chiefs conference.”
