Throne speech to address reconciliation with First Nations – Global

December 4, 2015

OTTAWA – When Gov. Gen. David Johnston delivers the speech from the throne on Friday, he is expected to address reconciliation with Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples as one of the government’s central commitments in the new session of Parliament.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett said she will hear the address for the first time when it is delivered in the Upper Chamber but she points out that the prime minister has signalled clearly and often that the relationship with aboriginal peoples “is the most important relationship to him and to Canada.”

“I think that the chiefs and indigenous people across Canada have been heartened by what exactly is in the mandate letter of every minister,” Bennett said in an interview with The Canadian Press.