AFN Chief Bellegarde says ‘status quo budget’ offers little for First Nations – The Globe and Mail
Apr. 22 2015
The leader of Canada’s largest native group says his people must start voting in large numbers to force Ottawa to address the social and economic problems that plague their communities after this week’s federal budget offered little for First Nations.
“It’s a status-quo budget. And I always say the status quo is not acceptable,” Perry Bellegarde, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said Wednesday in an interview with The Globe and Mail. But with a federal election in the fall, Mr. Bellegarde said native people have an opportunity make their voices heard.
“If we get the First Nations vote out, we can influence 50 to 60 ridings. We’ve got to start mobilizing our political power as First Nations people.”
