Manitoba Justice Minister Dave Chomiak vowed today talks with aboriginal leaders over a plan to hand over probation services to First Nation and Métis agencies will continue.
But Chomiak said the immediate focus should be putting crime prevention services in place for aboriginal people to counter gangs and crime.
"We want services on the ground now," Chomiak said. "Talking around a table year after year doesn't necessarily achieve that."
The talks, which have been stuck for months, were called off by the province in a March 17 letter to aboriginal groups that they made public today.
The talks, which have been stuck for months, were called off by the province in a March 17 letter to aboriginal groups that they made public today.
"Given some of the critical issues is some of your communities, the province is no longer convinced that the devolution initiative is the best investment of resources," Minister of Competitiveness, Training and Trade Andrew Swan said in the letter.
Morris J. Swan Shannacappo, grand chief of the Southern Chiefs' Organization, said "critical issues" likely refers to ongoing problems with the handover of child and family services responsibilities to native agencies over the past five years, and the deaths of several children while in care of those agencies.
Shannacappo said at a news conference that First Nations are upset the province ended talks over probation devolution without a more detailed explanation.
Swan said in the letter that the province is willing to restart discussions sometime in the future.
The process to date has cost about $3 million. The suspension of talks also threatens future federal-provincial funding for some First Nation communities involved in the devolution plan.
brjuce.owen@freepress.mb.ca
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