Leaders To Gather In Winnipeg For 2008 National Aboriginal Health Summit

Manitoba News Release
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March 3, 2008

Aboriginal leaders from across Canada, provincial and territorial ministers and officials will gather in Winnipeg today for the 2008 National Aboriginal Health Working Summit.

The summit, which runs today and tomorrow, is a followup meeting to the 2006 National Summit on Aboriginal Health in Kelowna, British Columbia, and the 2005 First Ministers’ Meeting on Aboriginal Health. The summit in Winnipeg will be opened today by Premier Gary Doer and National Chief Phil Fontaine.”I want to thank Aboriginal leaders across Canada and in Manitoba for their hard work in pulling this summit together,” Doer said. “Working together with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities and the federal government, we can continue to make progress on the challenges facing Aboriginal citizens and communities.”

Participating in the summit are the five Aboriginal organizations that were represented at the 2006 summit: the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Native Women’s Association of Canada and Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.

Also participating will be Manitoba Aboriginal leaders including Grand Chief Ron Evans of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Métis Federation.

In addition to Doer, Manitoba will have four cabinet ministers participating in the event: Health Minister Theresa Oswald; Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Oscar Lathlin; Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport Minister Eric Robinson; and Healthy Living Minister Kerry Irvin-Ross.

The federal government will be represented by Senator Gerry St. Germaine.

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