MCC Responds to Aboriginal Court Ruling

January 28, 3003
Aboriginal Neighbours

WINNIPEG, Mb - Mennonite Central Committee supports the Federal Court of Canada's decision to remove Ottawa from the administration of financial affairs for the Pikangikum First Nation in Northwestern Ontario.

In his thirty-eight page decision, Justice John O'Keefe, ruled that Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Robert Nault's move to place the affairs of Pikangikum under third party management were "patently unreasonable" and "a breach of the duty of procedural fairness."

"This ruling is important because it now means that the federal government needs to return the affairs of the community back to its own leaders," says MCC Aboriginal Neighbors spokesperson Robert Miller. "Love Thy Neighbor is at the core of Jesus' message. We need to be more conscious of that message in how we relate to the people around us. Our government needs to start acting more like a neighbor and less like an oppressor."

Miller says the court decision, that was handed down on December 5, 2002, should help move both sides closer towards the goals of equality.

"The court's decision addresses the fundamental concerns about relationships. This decision should start to tear away the bricks from the walls that divide us and move us toward more sharing of resources," he says.

Miller, who provides community development assistance for Pikangikum, says $750,000 of partner funding for suicide prevention programs became unavailable when London, Ontario based A.D. Morrison and Associates was given the responsibility of administering the financial affairs of the community. Under third party management, the government funding is centralized to pay only essential medical and education costs.

Indian Affairs Minsiter Nault placed Pikangikum under third-party management in December of 2000 citing the federal government's difficulty to provide services to the community. Nault's decision was made despite clear financial audits that showed a budgetary surplus for the Pikangikum First Nation.