APRIL 2017

INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES ACTp2

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON JOINT PRIORITIES p3

BUDGET 2017 – RECAP p3

MEETINGS AND FORUMS UPDATEp4

ASSEMBLY OFFIRST NATIONS55 METCALFE STREETSUITE 1600OTTAWA, ONK1P 6L5

ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS/ASSEMBLEE DES PREMIERES NATIONS

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FIRST NATIONS MARK 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF VIMY RIDGEOn Sunday, April 9 I was honoured to join First Nations veterans, the Prime Minister, the Governor General, Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry and more than 30,000 Canadian students, veterans and family to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in France.

The Sons of Membertou drum group helped to open the ceremonies, along with hoop dancers Marika Cockney and James Jones. Knowledge Keeper Ed Neveau and his wife Madelain Hardisty-Neveau also travelled to Vimy to lead our delegation with a pipe ceremony and a sunset ceremony on the site before the Vimy commemoration.

First Nations veterans have served in all major world conflicts, including World War I and World War II, where thousands enlisted in Canada’s armed forces despite being exempted from conscription.

While in France, our veterans’ delegation attended the opening of the Canadian War Museum exhibit Witness – Fields of Battle Through Canadian Eyes in the city of Arras, and visited the Ring of Remembrance, as well as Canadian, German and British cemeteries and the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial site.

National Chief Bellegarde with Métis veteran Victor Flett and First Nation veteran Tom Bressette at Vimy Ridge on April 9, 2017.

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INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES ACT

In December at our Special Chiefs Assembly in Gatineau, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada’s commitment to co-develop a new federal Indigenous Languages Act to recognize, support and revitalize the original languages of this land.

Since that time the Assembly of First Nations has had discussions with the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the Métis National Council (MNC) and Canadian Heritage about the work ahead.

The AFN is following up on this commitment and will provide updates as details are confirmed.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses the AFN Special Chiefs Assembly in Gatineau, Quebec on December 6, 2016.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the UN Declaration) states:

Article 13, (1): Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons.

Article 14, (1): Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.

There are more than 58 First Nations languages in Canada. These are treasured jewels unique to this land, and are not spoken anywhere else in the world.

Critical and immediate action is needed as only two First Nations languages — Nehiyawewin (Cree) and Anishinabemowin (Ojibwa) — are predicted to survive. We must save our languages.

Elsewhere in the world endangered languages have been revitalized. Recognition, action and investments today will ensure First Nations languages survive.

–AFN Closing the Gap, 2015

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To mark the first anniversary of the release of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau expressed interest in establishing processes to discuss areas of mutual interest with First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The Assembly of First Nations made clear that we require a distinct process, and that any approach would not constitute a decision-making body. A draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was prepared by AFN staff for review and discussion by the AFN Executive at a meeting February 22-23, 2017. The

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON JOINT PRIORITIES

BUDGET 2017 – $3.4 BILLION FOR FIRST NATIONS PRIORITIESThe 2017 federal budget represented another significant investment with $3.4 billion for Indigenous peoples priorities over five years and $4 billion over 10 years for housing, water and infrastructure. This is on top of the $8.4 billion in Budget 2016 over five years. This budget makes important investments in post-secondary education, language revitalization and First Nations governance, critical investments that were left out of last year’s Budget which are vital to Closing the Gap. It also helps to meet some urgent needs, including First Nations policing, mental health programming and the Specific Claims Tribunal.

draft document contemplated a process for ongoing dialogue with the federal government through a commitment to meet four times a year to discuss and assess progress on First Nations priorities, with the Prime Minister attending at least one of these meetings. The AFN Executive passed a motion on February 23 to continue this process. The AFN will continue to work to secure these meeting commitments through the MOU process and will keep First Nations apprised of progress.

In his speech to Parliament, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the new funding represents an increase of 27 per cent in spending between 2015-16 and 2021-22 and has erased the two per cent cap that had been in place for 20 years. There’s more budget information on our website at www.afn.ca.

You can also find information on Budget 2017: Building a

Strong Middle Class at www.budget.gc.ca.

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AFN KEY MEETINGS AND FORUMS

The Assembly of First Nations is active across the full range of key portfolios led by the Regional Chiefs of the Executive, and Chiefs Committees. The following is a partial list of activities since the Special Chiefs Assembly in December 2016:

• Specific Claims Joint Technical Working Group (JTWG) – January 19-20, Ottawa, ON and AFN Specific Claims Dialogue Session – March 29, Ottawa, ON

• National Advisory Committee Child Welfare Meeting – January 24-25, Ottawa, ON

• National Aquaculture Working Group – January 24-25, Montreal, QC• Advisory Committee on Climate Action & the Environment (ACCAE) –

January 24-25 and February 28 – March 1, Ottawa, ON • Chiefs Committee on Languages – January 31, Ottawa, ON• AFN National Youth Council Meeting – February 4-5, Ottawa, ON• Chiefs Committee Fiscal Relations – February 9, Ottawa, ON• AFN Management Committee Meeting – February 15 and Executive

Meeting – February 22-23, Ottawa, ON• AFN Chiefs Committee on Housing and Infrastructure – February

15-17, Ottawa, ON• AFN Tri-Council Meeting – February 17-18, Winnipeg, MB• National Fisheries Committee – February 28, Charlottetown, PE• National Advisory Committee (NAC) Child and Family Services –

March 20-21, Ottawa, ON • AFN Fisheries Act Meeting – March 28, Ottawa, ON • First Nations Landless Bands Meeting – April 18, Ottawa, ON

National Forums• AFN First Nation Directors of Education National Forum – March 1-2, Calgary, AB• AFN Energy Forum – March 22-23, Ottawa, ON• AFN Emergency Management Forum – March 28-30, Calgary, AB

The First Nation Directors of Education National Forum brought together more than 700 First Nation educators, administrators, government officials and leaders from across Canada to share perspectives and engage in critical dialogue on First Nations education on March 1-2 in Calgary, Alberta.

National Chief Bellegarde speaks with federal Health Minister Jane Philpott at the AFN Executive meeting in February.

David Suzuki addresses the AFN Energy Forum: Inclusive Prosperity in Our Energy Future held in Ottawa, March 22-23, 2017.