For those who may have missed it, please find below the Aug. 3, 2010 installment of mediaINDIGENA’s weekly audio appearances on THE WORD on STREETZ 104.7 FM, hosted by Lady V:
[audio:https://mediaindigena.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/MI-StreetzFM-Aug3.mp3|titles=MI-StreetzFM-Aug3]Blog
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POLL: Does Canada’s new Indian Affairs minister signal a change in policy?
Well, they’ve gone and chucked Strahl — critics of Indian Affairs will have to slam Duncan now.
And as MP John Duncan busies himself printing new business cards, we want to gauge the waters of public opinion on this change-up in political personnel.
What, if anything, could this ministerial switch mean in terms of possible policy changes on the horizon? Help us out via our new poll.
[polldaddy poll=”3580334″]
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Meet your new Indian Affairs Minister
MP John Duncan It’s official:
John Duncan has replaced Chuck Strahl as Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC).
Duncan had previously served as Strahl’s parliamentary secretary at INAC.
Strahl – who many had believed was going to be the new Government House Leader – has taken over John Baird’s spot as Minister of Transport (who in turn has taken over as Government House Leader).
Inuit Tapririit Kanatami (ITK) leader Mary Simon issued a press release congratulating the new Minister, but there has so far been no reaction from the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) or other leaders.
UPDATE: AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo has issued a press release, welcoming the new INAC Minister:
“I extend an invitation for us to meet as soon as possible to begin setting out an agenda aimed at building stronger First Nations and a stronger Canada.”
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Canada’s new Indian Affairs minister: on the record
John Duncan Canada’s political rumour mill has churned out correctly predicted the possibility that John Duncan will has become the next Indian and Northern Affairs Minister, thereby replacing fellow B.C. MP Chuck Strahl (who is in turn rumoured to has become the next Government House Leader Transport Minister).
Should Since the speculation prove to be is now fact, it would be nice to have an idea of where the man stands on the relevant issues. One way to discern that is combing through the written record.
Luckily for us, a big chunk of that is available through the website openparliament.ca — a way cool tool that aims to make Parliamentary information “more easily accessible, and to encourage transparency in government.” So, if Duncan said it in the House of Commons or in a Parliamentary Committee, it’ll be there.
And the best part about openparliament.ca? It’s searchable, which means we can easily type in an MP’s name together with keywords to see what s/he had to say on the matter. Keyword combos like…
God, I loves the InterWeb.
Now, even though the search function does not work flawlessly (e.g., a few quotes from other MPs with the surname ‘Duncan’ sneak in there occasionally) this should give you a pretty representative sample of his stated views on matters of importance to Indigenous peoples in political fora. That said, searches with his name and the terms ‘Inuit‘ and ‘Metis‘ respectively proved less reliable or relevant.
Happy reading! And make sure to comment below with your favorite quotes!
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New Indian Affairs Minister expected to be announced
MP Chuck Strahl in the House of Commons Big news out of Ottawa.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to announce a mini-shuffle of his cabinet on Friday. According to a Globe & Mail report, John Duncan will replace Chuck Strahl as Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs.
Strahl is rumoured to be moving up to Government House Leader, a position left open since Jay Hill announced last month that he would not run in the next election.
It will be interesting to see how First Nation leaders react in the coming days.
Stay tuned…
