TORONTO - Premier Dalton McGuinty is expected to appoint a stand-alone minister of aboriginal affairs as part of his new cabinet Tuesday, giving greater profile to native issues in a time of escalating land disputes, occupations and deteriorating infrastructure on some Ontario reserves.
A Liberal source familiar with the announcement told The Canadian Press that McGuinty will make good on his promise to have a separate Aboriginal Affairs Ministry, complete with its own minister, as recommended by the recent Ipperwash inquiry.
The move comes as aboriginal leaders say the growing list of issues facing their communities requires a dedicated representative at the cabinet table.
The Liberals made some bureaucratic changes before the election -- changing the secretariat of aboriginal affairs into a ministry -- but McGuinty kept the same minister, who was also responsible for the Natural Resources portfolio.
Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse said that was an inherent conflict of interest and it's no longer good enough.
"We are hopeful that there will be a minister that is solely responsible for aboriginal affairs and not a combination of a number of other responsibilities,'' Toulouse said.
"We don't want to see another situation where we have potential conflict.''
Any minister will have their work cut out for them, he said.
There are still about 100 recommendations from the Ipperwash inquiry that must be implemented, the occupation in Caledonia is nearing its two-year anniversary and living conditions on northern reserves are deteriorating, Toulouse said.
Chiefs are also just a few months away from taking the province to court over the collection of gaming revenue following a failed deal to share the proceeds from Ontario's casinos with aboriginal communities, he added.
"There is the need for some reconciliation,'' Toulouse said.
Ontario's Metis Nation is also looking to forge a new relationship with a devoted minister of aboriginal affairs. Tony Belcourt, president of the Metis Nation of Ontario, said he's confident McGuinty will appoint a separate minister who can provide a "co-ordinated response'' to a growing list of issues that need attention.
The Metis have just finished a lengthy court battle to have their hunting and fishing rights recognized in Ontario and are ready to make peace with a government that has "either ignored us or denied our existence,'' Belcourt said.
"This is a high watermark and turning point for us in terms of an ability to develop an appropriate working relationship with the government,'' he said.
"The most important thing for us is having a way to develop an appropriate relationship so we can take our rightful place and not be constantly seen as people who have to be dealt with through an enforcement agency.''
Many aboriginals would not be unhappy if McGuinty reappointed David Ramsay, who is minister of natural resources and aboriginal affairs now, to the post but left him to focus only on the aboriginal file, Belcourt said.
Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said he fully expects McGuinty to make good on his word and appoint a separate minister of aboriginal affairs, as he promised to do following the Ipperwash inquiry.
The current arrangement won't work, he said.
"He committed himself to that and then went through this charade where he supposedly created a separate ministry and put the same person in charge,'' Tory said.
"That wasn't what was intended.''
But NDP Leader Howard Hampton said it doesn't much matter whether McGuinty appoints a separate minister for aboriginal affairs Tuesday. What matters, he said, is what the government does to improve the lives of the native population.
The Liberals have to start sharing the $1 billion they rake in from Casino Rama with increasingly impoverished aboriginal communities, he said.
"Without concrete action on the substantive issues, it's simply another photo-op,'' Hampton said.
