(July 27, 2023 – Toronto, Ontario) Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare and OFNYPC Co-Chairs Winter Dawn Lipscombe and Kathleen Doxtator issued the following statement acknowledging yesterday’s Federal Cabinet shuffle and welcoming newly appointed Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Gary Anandasangaree:
“Yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a significant Cabinet shuffle, with many Ministers set to take on new or additional roles, including the newly appointed Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Gary Anandasangaree,” said Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare.
“On behalf of the Chiefs of Ontario, I offer my congratulations to Minister Anandasangaree in his official appointment to Cabinet. I would also like to acknowledge former Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller for the work that he has undertaken to date in the ministry. We are hopeful that we will be able to continue to build upon the critical and time-sensitive issues that First Nations are facing.”
“We appreciate Minister Anandasangaree’s depth of legal knowledge and past human rights activism endeavours from his previous role as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada,” said OFNYPC Co-Chairs Winter Dawn Lipscombe and Kathleen Doxtator. “We are hopeful that this will translate well into building stronger and meaningful relationships with First Nations as he assumes his new role as Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.”
Alongside this particular Cabinet change, we see a nearly entire overhaul of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet, with a number of Ministers replaced in their roles or moving to handle new files altogether. This is an opportunity for First Nations, the federal government and all cabinet ministers to establish a new and collaborative approach to working with First Nations leadership and to re-establish priorities that have perhaps stalled or have not yet received the attention that they deserve.
“We have made steady progress in addressing some of the inequalities First Nations face in Ontario, but much work remains to be completed. We look forward to meeting with Minister Gary Anandasangaree as soon as possible to deliver action on our shared priorities and to begin charting collaborative strategies on critical areas that are widely affecting First Nation communities, such as justice, housing and infrastructure, economic development, and prosperity.”
Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare (Gwiingos)
OFNYPC Co-Chairs Winter-Dawn Lipscombe and Kathleen Doxtator
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The Chiefs of Ontario support all First Nations in Ontario as they assert their sovereignty, jurisdiction and their chosen expression of nationhood. Follow Chiefs of Ontario on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @ChiefsOfOntario.
The Ontario First Nations Young Peoples Council (OFNYPC) is the official youth voice for the 133 First Nations in Ontario.
Media Contact:
Christopher Hoyos
Director of Policy and Communications
Policy and Communications Sector
Chiefs of Ontario
Telephone: (416) 579 4998
Email: Chris.Hoyos@coo.org
