-With cries of political outrage over the Attawapiskat crisis still echoing off Parliament Hill’s sandstone walls, Prime Minister Stephen Harper invited television cameras into his wood-paneled office before his meeting with Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo Thursday to announce a “historic” meeting between his government and First Nations leaders.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said Attawapiskat residents living in squalid housing conditions will be able to move into temporary accommodations in the community’s sportsplex and healing centre.
First Nations MPs offered starkly different takes on the unfolding crisis in the Cree community of Attawapiskat.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo is meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper Thursday afternoon as the political fallout over the housing crisis in Attawapiskat continues to escalate.
It’s -20C in Attawapiskat First Nation.
Federal Aboriginal Affairs officials travelled to Attawapiskat at least 10 times this year, including three times in October, but it appears none of these visits triggered any concerns with the department about the state of housing on the reserve.
A month after the northern Ontario First Nation community of Attawapiskat declared a state of emergency triggering the intervention of the Canadian Red Cross, the Conservative government has announced it would be removing the chief and council and hiring a financial consultant to manage the reserve.
APTN National News reporter Ossie Michelin travelled to Attawapiskat this week.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said his government was “not very happy” with the situation in Attawapiskat, the Ontario First Nations community in the grip of a severe housing crisis.
