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Minister Duguid's Appearance on The Agenda

February 9, 2009 — Minister of Aboriginal Affairs Brad Duguid appeared on The Agenda's Aboriginals and the Economy episode.

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The Agenda: Partnerships with Aboriginal Communities

Audience Member: The issues that affect the South are much different than the issues that affect the North and I believe it's a Northern issue as well as an Aboriginal issue.

It's time to look at some type of separation.

I mean, there are countries that are smaller than Northern Ontario and we have to deal with these issues ourselves.

Steve Paikin: Do you think Northern Ontario could go it alone?

Audience Member: I think so.

Steve Paikin: Okay, Minister you're on.

Minister Duguid: You know, I think we have to work together. I think, you know, we're going through some tough economic times and the best thing we can do is try to work as best as we can in partnership.

That's what we're really trying to do in the province of Ontario with the First Nations, the Métis communities here in this province, is to try to build on those partnerships.

I think what we really should be doing is talking about things that bring us together rather than trying to divide ourselves up.

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The Agenda: Working Together

Steve Paikin: My question is, "does the Ontario government see that kind of much more significant participation among Aboriginals as being a possibility today?"

Minister Duguid: Well, absolutely. What we're seeing in this province I think over the last six years is a complete change in the relationship between the government of Ontario and First Nations, Métis, Inuit people and communities.

We're looking at a government-to-government relationship which we did not have before — based on trust, based on respect.

That's where we've started and we've moved forward with things like we're modernizing the Mining Act. We're discussing Resource Benefit Sharing, and a number of other things that we're working on together.

I think that the key is we're working on it together, government to government, which gives me great cause to suggest that the future is going to be brighter.

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The Agenda: Mining Act

Audience Member: Coming forward over the next two years there's going to be about 15,000 jobs available in the mining field that hopefully the First Nations can have an opportunity in.

Steve Paikin: Thank you for contributing. The thing Minister we heard a lot yesterday is government is in a unique position on this issue to facilitate or to frustrate.

I know which you want to do. There's too much of the other one happening though still, isn't there?

Minister Duguid: Well, if we talk about the Mining Act and the consultations, we've engaged in probably the most intimate level of consultations of any piece of legislation in the province's history.

We've sat down with First Nations leadership at a round table together. We're working through some of the challenges.

What will come out of this — beyond a doubt — will be a Mining Act that is going to provide much greater opportunities for participation and partnerships with First Nation communities.

Regardless of the details as it moves forward, I'm very, very confident that it's going to be much better than what we have now.

And what we're working together on is trying to make it as positive as we possibly can for First Nation communities.

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The Agenda: Increasing Awareness

Steve Paikin: One Aboriginal delegate yesterday said, "Mainstream Canada is a capitalist, rapacious system - we are not. There's never going to be a kind of a coming together that's beneficial for both sides."

Do you believe that?

Minister Duguid: No, I don't. I don't believe that.

I do believe it is challenging, in particular for so-called mainstream Canadians, to understand, frankly, who we are as a nation and for Ontarians to understand who we are as a province.

Because I think there is a lack of awareness of the contribution that the Aboriginal communities have made, and Métis communities have made, to the province and the country.

I think that lack of awareness is something that, it's a challenge for all of us both within Aboriginal communities and non-Aboriginal communities to try to counter as much as we can.

Perhaps that's part of my job as well, as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, to try to ensure that that awareness is enhanced across the province.