Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to inform the House of one of the outcomes of the national Urban Aboriginal Strategy workshop that I was pleased to attend in Winnipeg on March 30 and 31.
The UAS workshop brought together aboriginal community representatives from each of the 12 UAS pilot cities across the country. One observed such diverse aboriginal communities as the Haida Nation of British Columbia working diligently with the Ojibway Clan of Manitoba to produce new strategies to assist the many thousands of aboriginal peoples now residing in urban centres.
One of the most important outcomes of the UAS gathering will be the creation of an aboriginal caucus for the UAS. The aboriginal caucus will advise the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs and his officials on how best to move this increasingly important strategy forward in the future.
I wish to express my congratulations and thanks to the UAS pilot city representatives for their hard work and thoughtful presentations and most of all for their willingness to work together to develop an urban aboriginal strategy that will benefit all Canadians.