Minister and Grand Council Chief to announce new Roundtable

Union of Ontario Indians
News Release

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CHIPPEWAS OF THE THAMES FN - The Honourable Brad Duguid, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Grand Council Chief John Beaucage will be at the Anishinabek Nation Special Chiefs Assembly this week in Chippewas of the Thames on Wednesday, November 12.

The Grand Council Chief John Beaucage and the Minister will launch a new bilateral roundtable involving 42 First Nations across Ontario.

"The roundtable will establish a new formal dialogue between First Nations and the Crown. This will also be known as the 'Anishinabek Table'," says Grand Council Chief John Beaucage.

Other topics of discussion at assembly will be the Anishinabek Nation Citizenship Law, Economics, Self-Government and modernization of the Ontario Mining Act.

WHAT: Anishinabek Nation Special Chiefs Assembly

WHO: Grand Council Chief John Beaucage, The Hon. Brad Duguid,

Chiefs, Councillors, Citizens of 42 member First Nations

WHERE: Community Centre, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation Muncey, Ontario

WHEN: November 12, 2008, 11AM

The Anishinabek Nation incorporated the Union of Ontario Indians as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI is a political advocate for 42 member First Nations across Ontario. The Union of Ontario Indians is the oldest political organization in Ontario and can trace its roots back to the Confederacy of Three Fires, which existed long before European contact.

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