MCK congratulates Trudeau, acknowledges key cabinet appointments

11/04/2015

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) is offering congratulations to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the new 31-member cabinet Federal government sworn in today in Ottawa.

There are several appointments of particular interest to Kahnawà:ke. In particular, Jody Wilson-Raybould’s appointment as Minister of Justice is particularly noteworthy, as this post can be considered one of the most important in any government. She is a member of the We Wai Kai Nation (located in British Columbia) and is the daughter of Bill Wilson, a well-known and respected leader.

The appointment of Hunter Tootoo as Minister of Fisheries & Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard is also acknowledged. Mr. Tootoo is Innu and was most recently the former speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.

Carolyn Bennett has been appointed Minister of the newly-renamed Indigenous Affairs & Northern Development portfolio. She is familiar to the Chiefs of the Iroquois Caucus, with whom she has meet with on several occasions as the former Aboriginal Affairs critic for the Liberal Party.

“We applaud the Prime Minister on his approach to the swearing-in ceremonies, which were culturally respectful towards Indigenous people,” said Grand Chief Joseph Tokwiro Norton. “We look forward to meeting with Ministers Wilson and Bennett, who are in positions to move discussions of jurisdictional recognition, law creation and law enforcement – among other issues.”

“Today’s actions seem to reflect Mr. Trudeau’s promise of moving towards a nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous people,” he added. “Of course, the proof will come when we have to deal with our issues but, thus far, there is vast improvement in the attitude towards First Nations compared to the previous government. It’s a good start.”