November 22, 2006
Joseph Quesnel
First Perspective
The Manitoba government will be transferring about $20 million in lottery revenue to First Nations communities in Manitoba over the next five years, which will be earmarked for a new economic development fund.
The government and First Nations communnities signed the agreement yesterday. The agreement is being heralded as the first of its kind in Manitoba history.
According to one media account, the deal has been months in the making, although the province has agreed to the sum in principle this past summer.
Operation of the fund will be overseen by a joint committee of provincial and assembly officials.
In a CBC news account, it is reported that the provincial agreement is intended to compensate First Nations for not upholding a promise it had made to approve five native casinos, as was recommended in a 1997 report on First Nations gaming policy.
The province, it continues, has approved only two such casinos since the report came out.
Aboriginal representatives are hoping that the agreement will provide a model for other revenue-sharing programs, particularly in the forestry and mining industries, although a government official has not confirmed if the deal will be copied in other areas.