Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Yellowknife for Northern town hall meeting
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Yellowknife today, where he will field questions from the public in his first and so far only town hall event north of 60.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Multiplex arena on Kam Lake Road.
Indigenous leaders have been invited to be part of the audience, but they say they want more than that.
“I was invited to go to the town hall… to sit up front and smile,” said Yellowknives Dene Chief Edward Sangris.
Yellowknives Dene Chief Edward Sangris says he wants to speak with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about resolving the Akaitcho Process. (CBC)
He and other Indigenous leaders are hoping to get some time with Trudeau, but Sangris said so far, there hasn’t been a reply to his request.
Sangris said one of the things he wants to discuss with Trudeau is Canada’s obligations in resolving the Akaitcho Process. Negotiations between the Akaitcho Dene First Nations, the N.W.T. government and the federal government began in 2001.
Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus says he has also been invited to attend the town hall meeting. (Juanita Taylor/CBC)
Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus agreed negotiations are taking a long time and taking a lot of energy and resources. Erasmus has also been invited to attend the town hall meeting. He said he also hopes to meet with the prime minister.
“I think at the end we’ll get a little bit of time with him and we’re looking forward to it.”
Trudeau was in Iqaluit Thursday, where he met with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami leaders and Premier Peter Taptuna before attending a community event at Inuksuk High School.
There are no plans for a visit to Yukon. Trudeau met with Premier Sandy Silver and MP Larry Bagnell in Ottawa on Wednesday.
CBC’s Mitch Wiles and Hilary Bird will be tweeting updates from Trudeau’s visit. Follow along with our live blog below.
Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/prime-minister-justin-trudeau-yellowknife-1.3975229?cmp=rss