The loss of a full-time aboriginal affairs minister in Ontario is a "step backwards" and flies in the face of the findings of the Ipperwash inquiry, First Nations leaders warn.

On Monday, Premier Dalton McGuinty unveiled changes to key portfolios and gave Attorney General Chris Bentley the added responsibilities of the ministry of aboriginal affairs. Brad Duguid previously held this post but he was moved to energy and infrastructure.

A separate aboriginal affairs minister and ministry was one of the key recommendations to come out of the inquiry into the fatal shooting of First Nations protester Dudley George in September 1995. George was killed by an Ontario Provincial Police officer during the occupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park – a place he said was a sacred burial ground.

"This is a step backwards," said Grand Chief Stan Beardy of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. "We need to figure out how this will work."

Faced with high unemployment, a youth suicide crisis in remote northern areas, and general frustration among First Nations people regarding land development, now is not the time to scale back gains made with Duguid as a stand-alone minister, Beardy said.

"The premier doesn't seem to see aboriginal issues as worthy of a stand-alone minister," he added. "This is backwards for us and very disappointing."

Bentley told reporters on Monday he welcomes adding aboriginal affairs to his mix of duties. "I'll be working as hard as I can, every minute of every hour that I can devote," Bentley said. "These issues are enormously important. ... I've got a lot of work to do. I have a lot of listening to do."

But NDP MPP Michael Prue (Beaches East York) balked at the idea that the attorney general has enough spare time to run an entire aboriginal affairs ministry.

"This is an adjunct to his main function," Prue said on Tuesday. "Being attorney general is a huge job – one that already consumes most of his time. This is not Bentley's fault. It's the premier's for going back on his word."

The Liberals created the aboriginal affairs ministry in 2007 after the release of the Ipperwash report. David Ramsay was the first minister, but he also was in charge of another ministry at the time.

Murray Klippenstein, one of the lawyers for the family of Dudley George, said Dudley's brother, Sam, would be upset with the reversal. Sam died of cancer in 2009. He received the Order of Ontario for his tireless work in aboriginal affairs after Dudley's death.

"I know he'd be quietly shaking his head today, saying I thought we had taken a step forward," Klippenstein said.

"I know Sam would be disappointed."