Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde made an impassioned pitch to his fellow chiefs Tuesday as he looks to secure re-election as leader, touting a productive working relationship with the federal Liberal government. Bellegarde said the AFN's work with Ottawa has already started to "bear fruit," pointing to substantial funding commitments unveiled in the last two federal budgets. We are in the midst of a tremendous opportunity to do exactly that — get things done," he said in his opening remarks at the AFN's special chiefs assembly in Ottawa this week. Others believe Bellegarde has centralized power at the national level to the detriment of regional First Nations organizations. Manitoba Grand Chief Arlen Dumas is concerned the AFN's move to sign a memorandum of understanding with Ottawa is centralizing power at the national level.

Source: CBC News December 05, 2017 23:48 UTC