By the time the Chiefs of Ontario hold their conference at Nipissing First Nation (NFN) in late June, the provincial election will have come and gone and Ontarians will know who will lead the province.
NFN Chief Scott McLeod says one agenda item the Chiefs will undertake is putting together a strategy on how to raise First Nations issues with the provincial government.
However McLeod says if Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford becomes Premier, how First Nations approach the new government with their strategy will have to change.
“Over the years we’ve had a difficult time dealing with Conservative governments at both levels to get any type of recognition or to move the yardstick forward on issues.” McLeod said.
“I don’t think a (provincial) Conservative government in this election will be any different. I think we’ll have more challenges with them.”
McLeod says considering Ford has been fairly quiet on First Nations issues, it suggests this is not a priority for the Tory leader although he hopes he’s wrong on this point.
The Chiefs of Ontario hold their conference from June 26th to the 28th and the provincial election is June 7th.
