NWT Mtis Nation says Ottawa shortchanged them millions in land claim money

The president of the Northwest TerritoryMtis Nation says a lack of federal money is holding up its land claim negotiations.

Garry Bailey, the president of the NWT Mtis Nation, says the federal Department ofCrown-Indigenous Relations shortchanged his organization several millions dollars for the current fiscal year. The department also turned downadditional $240,000 requested last December to pay for flights andaccommodation for thenegotiating team of about a dozen people toattend two meetings with Ottawa, he says.

The shortfall also meant staff couldn't be hired to process nearly 2,000 people applying to be members of NWT Metis Nation, Bailey says.

Bailey says the negotiating process will face further delays without sufficient funds to negotiate, travel and consult with members.

He hoped their 25,000 square kilometre claim would be ratified this May, but that's been pushed back to 2021.

[The feds] needto put their money where their mouth is.- Garry Bailey, president of NWT Mtis Nation

"They doubled the workload but cut the funds," Bailey says.

"People need to know what Canada is doing with the Mtispeople, to see what we are up against. We are trying to finalize this thing and if we are not given the proper funding, it really does not help the situation."

Bailey says his negotiating team expected to attend twice as many meetings with Ottawa compared to a year ago

• NWT Mtis Nation membership drive underway, members will have say in final land claim

Bailey issued a news release earlier this week outlining his concerns.

Bailey told CBC he's known for months there would be a shortfall, but he wants to draw attention to the deficiencies, which he says are a problem for Indigenous groups across the country.

"Reconciliation is supposed to be the number one priority for Aboriginal people and finalizing our claims was one of the biggest things they were talking about and expediting them. [The feds] definitely needto put their money where their mouth is," he says.

The NWT MtisNation has been negotiating their claim for more than 20 years, and Bailey says he hopes that it receives more money during the next fiscal year.

CBC contacted the Crown-Indigenous Relations Department for comment, but did not receive a response by Thursday afternoon.

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