Budget 2023: Feds commit consultation money for Indigenous resource sharing

By The Canadian Press on March 28, 2023.

OTTAWA – The federal Liberal government is committing $8.7 million to hold more consultations on Indigenous resource sharing, in a budget that offers relatively new spending on its reconciliation agenda.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled a spending plan that prioritizes Canada’s transition to a greener economy, offering billions in new tax credits, as well as health care and affordability.

Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples remains a major priority for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, with billions announced in previous years including early in his first mandate.

Major Indigenous organizations, including the Assembly of First Nations, have told the federal government that billions more are needed to address current and future infrastructure needs, such as housing.

The budget shows Ottawa plans to inject $4 billion over seven years into an urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing strategy beginning in 2024-25, but that remains under development.

The federal government also committed $8.7 million to Natural Resources Canada in the coming fiscal year to consult Indigenous partners on developing a framework to give communities access to more resource dollars from projects built on their territories, fulfilling a commitment made in last fall’s economic statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2023.

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