Justin Trudeau's pick for Aboriginal Affairs will set tone for next 4 years
Prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau's pick as minister responsible for government relations with Métis, Inuit and First Nations will be closely scrutinized on Wednesday when his new Liberal cabinet is unveiled.
A record 10 aboriginal MPs were elected to the House of Commons, eight of them in the Liberal caucus.
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Trudeau's choice to lead a "renewed, nation-to-nation relationship" with aboriginal communities will set the tone for the next four years.
Appointing an aboriginal MP to the role would be historic, but having aboriginal MPs in cabinet is seen as important to fulfilling his promise for an improved relationship between the Crown and Aboriginal Peoples.
"We have always stated that the more often that we can get Indigenous people around decision-making tables, that's really in the best interests of Canada — and decision-making tables, that means cabinet," said Perry Bellegarde, the national chief for the Assembly of First Nations.
Outgoing prime minister Stephen Harper appointed several aboriginal MPs to his cabinet over his near-decade in office, including Leona Aglukkaq, the first Inuk minister, and Peter Penashue, the first Innu to serve in cabinet.
Newly elected Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette, who beat longtime NDP incumbent Pat Martin to represent Winnipeg Centre, will not be in Trudeau's cabinet.
That leaves seven aboriginal MPs as possibilities:
- Yvonne Jones (Inuit) - Labrador.
- Michael McLeod (Métis) - Northwest Territories.
- Vance Badawey (Métis) - Niagara Centre, Ont.
- Don Rusnak (Anishinaabe) - Thunder Bay-Rainy River, Ont.
- Hunter Tootoo (Inuit) - Nunavut.
- Dan Vandal (Métis) - Saint Boniface-Saint Vital, Man.
- Jody Wilson-Raybould (Kwakwaka'wakw) - Vancouver-Granville, B.C.
The Assembly of First Nations gave the Liberal Party's platform near-perfect marks days ahead of the election when it released its assessment of the four main federal parties' platforms.
Trudeau's minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs will be expected to move forward with the following Liberal promises:
- To launch a national public inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women within 100 days.
- To invest $2.6B for First Nations education and immediately lift a two per cent cap on federal funding for First Nations programs.
- To end boil-water advisories on First Nations reserves within five years.
- To repeal those sections of the Anti-terrorism Act that are "cause for concern" to aboriginal people.
CBC News cabinet coverage
Follow the swearing in of prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau and his cabinet on our live blog at cbcnews.ca beginning at 8 a.m. ET, followed by CBC News special coverage with Peter Mansbridge live at 9:30 a.m. on CBC-TV and CBC News Network, and livestreaming at cbcnews.ca. CBC Radio will air special coverage beginning at 10:20 a.m. ET.