Serpent River chief goes to Ottawa. Meets Iggy

MEDIA NOTES

SERPENT RIVER FIRST NATION

************************* Meeting with the federal Liberal Leader – official opposition

Serpent River First Nation Chief Isadore Day will be meeting with Federal Opposition Leader of the Liberal Party – Michael Ignatieff - in Ottawa this morning to discuss both specific and broad policy issues.

The chief and the Liberal leader will talk about a number of issues that are pressing to his First Nations and their citizens.

The chief will refer to the progress in his community and the need for policies that ensures sustainable success.

Day wants to reiterate to the head of the party that Serpent River deals with all levels of government on a number of issues in single government to government approaches, but insists that in the near future his community will advance issues that will require tri-lateral dialogue on policies that affect his community and their territory like taxation, resource revenue sharing, child welfare and a number of other issues.

Chief Day says that he has reviewed the Liberal party`s policies from their 2009 party convention and says that more work can be done in the party`s approaches to ensure that there are bridges and strong linkages between First Nations, the federal and provincial government and the private sector.

In a closed-door discussion that will last most of the morning, Chief Day will raise much of his discussion around the federal and provincial governments' plan to hold a first ministers meeting on Aboriginal issues in the fall of 2010.

Day says that the Conservative government`s efforts to convene the 2010 First Ministers Meeting is a response to the Martin Liberal`s Kelowna Accord that was dropped by the Harper government which looked at a $5.1 billion investment in Aboriginal spending over five years.

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