Copyright © 2002 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Ottawa, Canada - Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault set the tone for his First Nations Fiscal Institutions Initiative when he fled from the Algonquins of Barriere Lake (ABL) at a press conference this morning. A crowd of nearly 70, mostly made up of elders, women and children, were on hand hoping to press the Minister about terrible housing and living conditions on the reserve. The Minister, however, refused to speak with the community and fled under a protective shield of RCMP officers. A~ the Minister's car sped away, one of Nault's aides tossed a quarter at the crowd. The incident was captured on video,

Hector Jerome speaks for the ABL. "How much more contempt can Nault show for our people? The Algonquins of Barriere Lake are living in Third World conditions while the Minister and his staff mocks us by throwing a quarter. Over $100 million is taken off our territory every year and nothing comes back. This Minister has left us with a string of broken agreements."

In 1991 the Federal government signed the Trilateral Agreement with Barriere Lake to negotiate a co-management agreement for the territory. Nault, however, ripped up the agreement. In 1996, the Federal government signed a "Memorandum of Mutual intent" to fix the terrible housing on the reserve but the government has made no attempt to implement the agreement.

The Algonquins of Barriere Lake live 280 kms north of Ottawa. A single phone line serves nearly 500 people. The community has no hydro and suffers from overcrowding and substandard housing. The community is being crippled by fact the Federal government continually holds back funding owed to the community for projects

Grand Chief Carol McBride of the Algonquin Nation was at the press conference hoping to meet with Minister Nault about the Minister's plans to help poorer reserves like Barriere Lake. She says she was shocked to see Nault's aide toss a coin at the crowd.

"The living conditions in Barriere Lake are a national disgrace. But we've now seen Nault's real message - here's a quarter call someone who caters. He owes our people an apology", Chief McBride said.