The Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation (IAFNER; formerly the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs) is the Government of Ontario ministry responsible for issues relating to First Nations, Métis and Inuit in Ontario. The current Minister of Indigenous Affairs is Hon. Greg Rickford who sits in the Executive Council of Ontario or cabinet.

History

From 1981 to 1985, indigenous issues were mainly the responsibilities of the Attorney General and the Provincial Secretary for Resources Development (as Chair of the Cabinet Committee on Native Affairs). In June 1985, Premier David Peterson designated a minister responsible for "native affairs" for the first time in Ontario history. In 1987, the Ontario Native Affairs Directorate was established. It was renamed the Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat in 1991. The entity acted as a support for the Minister Responsible for Native Affairs, and was headed by an Executive Director and later a Secretary, who for the most part held the rank of Assistant Deputy Attorney General. Andromache Karakatsanis, later Supreme Court Justice, held this role between 1995 and 1997. In 2006, the Secretariat's name was changed to the Ontario Aboriginal Affairs Secretariat. In June 2007, the standalone Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs replaced the Secretariat. In June 2016, the ministry was renamed the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation as part of Ontario's response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's 2015 Report. In June 2018, the ministry was renamed the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs. In June 2024, the ministry was renamed the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation. The mandate of the ministry is to: The ministry has four key priorities:

Land claims

The Ministry is the Ontario government's representative in negotiation of Indigenous land claims. Land claims are negotiated by the Ontario and Canadian governments, as representatives of the Crown, directly with First Nations. Proposed settlements are then presented to the general public. There is no independent body that represents affected Canadian settlers in native land claim negotiations. Settlers' concerns and evidence may have been ignored when it differed from proposed settlements. MIA has been mandated to reform the land claim process. The MIA is currently in negotiations with the Government of Canada and the Algonquins of Ontario First Nation (AOO) to resolve aboriginal title to 36000 km2 in eastern Ontario. According to the AOO, the land was never ceded and Algonquin title not recognized. An agreement in principle was reached in 2016.

Organization

Source: Government of Ontario.

List of ministers

Related links