Phil Fontaine
Phil Fontaine
Larry PhillipFontaine, OC OMis an Aboriginal Canadian leader. He completed his third and final term as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in 2009...
agreement cause clearly complex delicate experts held involved package position proposed tinkering view
Our position is that it must be implemented as is. It's a very complex agreement. A lot of detail. Very delicate proposition and any tinkering with the proposed compensation package would cause it to unravel. And that's a view held very clearly by our experts who were involved in the negotiations.
countless decades events injuries nations
decades in time, innumerable events and countless injuries to First Nations individuals and communities.
billion concern great meet objectives suggestion supports targets
Any suggestion that one supports the objectives and the targets but not the approximately $5 billion allocated to these targets is of great concern to us because we won't be able to meet the targets without money.
driving forcing government process respond targets
All of the targets we've set are achievable, ... We're driving this process and we're forcing government to respond to our plan.
canada front third yard
Canada has a Third World in its front yard and back alleys,
general law suggested
It's been suggested that it will be a law of general applications with some exclusions.
cynics pessimists process
I know there are pessimists and cynics who think this process will fail. I disagree.
national tragedy
That is a national tragedy and an international embarrassment.
incredible opportunity slip
This is an incredible opportunity for us, and we can't let it slip by.
circumstance drinking extreme health high poor
It highlighted the extreme circumstances that many of our communities live in - poor drinking water, poor health care, poor housing, poor schools, no recreational facilities, high unemployment.
far imagine seen ten
We have seen how far we can go in two years, imagine how far we can go in ten years.
government habit handing
The government is not in the habit of handing out money.
treated
We can't be treated as secondary. We can't be an after-thought,
expressed issue minister
We don't take issue with anything the minister has expressed here today.