Elections at the Assembly of First Nations - Quebec Innu communities support Ghislain Picard
NITASSINAN, Nov. 4, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - As the nomination process for posting candidacies to the position of National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (APN) comes to an end, Chiefs and Councils of the nine Innu communities in Quebec, regrouped under Nation Innue, unanimously support Ghislain Picard in his attempt to win the election that will be held during a special assembly in Winnipeg on December 10 .
The Nation Innue chiefs have come to this decision because according to them, Ghislain Picard is a man of great wisdom and experience. Head of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL) since 1992, he has taken an active role in the promotion of aboriginal rights and the protection of First Nation lands and territories. An Innu from the community of Pessamit on the Quebec North-Shore, he is a man of integrity, impervious to political pressure and essentially committed to the welfare of our First Nations. Having already declared that social and environmental issues would be at the heart of his agenda as National Chief of the AFN, Ghislain Picard will initiate an era of "Nations to Nation" dialogue with the Federal Government.
The December 10 election should mark the accession of the first Innu as head of the AFN. Historically, candidacies from eastern Canada have been scarce, but there is no doubt in our minds that Ghislain Picard has acquired all the necessary experience to successfully meet the many challenges awaiting him at a national level. Determined to reactivate channels of communication with Ottawa, he insists however that the Conservative government will have to commit to dialogue or face harsh aboriginal opposition.
As Chiefs and Council of the nine Innu communities in Quebec, we require from the Federal government that it put an end to the scandal of its two-tier regime applied in Canada since the adoption of the Indian Act. We want aboriginal rights to be recognised and respected in this country. Furthermore, we impatiently await the establishment of self government in our First Nations. Most of all, we seek a better world for our children and believe Ghislain can help us find it.
The Nation Innue group was founded in 2013 to speak as a single voice for all members of the Innu communities in Quebec on such issues as the protection and development of their traditional territories, their accession to self government, and their institutions.
SOURCE: Nation Innue
For further information: Serge Ashini-Goupil, 418 609-0491, [email protected]
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