Support for Northern and Shelter Allowance Increase

Fax: 705-658-4250

RESOLUTION NO. 2001-09-23

SUPPORT FOR NORTHERN AND SHELTER ALLOWANCE INCREASE

WHEREAS the March 2, 2001 ruling the Mushkegowuk Council v. Ontario case recognized the importance of the 1965 Welfare Agreement and con:finned that First Nation consent is required before Ontario can designate a First Nation as a delivery agent for Ontario Works; and

WHEREAS in 1995, Ontario cut social assistance rates by 21.5% without consultation or the consent of the Mushkegowuk First Nations; and

WHEREAS Ontario First Nations are currently in discussion with Canada for the development of a bilateral agreement for social assistance; and

WHEREAS Mushkegowuk First Nations are currently delivering the Financial Assistance component of Ontario Works as an interim measure, pending completion of the First Nation­Federal bilateral agreement for social assistance; and

WHEREAS Ontario residents, in general, are experiencing substantial increases in fuel and energy costs which are substantially magnified in the Mushkegowuk communities;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Mush.kegowuk Chiefs in Assembly unequivocally support the All Ontario Chiefs' Resolution O1/21 regarding a rate increase of the current shelter allowance;

FINALLY BE IT RESOLVED that the Mushkegowuk Chiefs in Assembly supports the Chiefs of Ontario to advocate with the Ministry of Community and Social Services to increase the northern and shelter allowance to reflect the increases in fuel and energy prices and the higher cost of living in the remote northern communities.

Please note the scanned text above has been rendered using the Adobe PDF Extract API and may contain errors. Please refer to the scanned images for the correct resolution spelling and context.