Photo: The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER — The British Columbia government has pledged to share gaming revenues with Indigenous communities across the province.
Premier John Horgan made the announcement in Vancouver at the opening of the annual gathering between B.C.’s cabinet and First Nations leaders, fulfilling a promise he says was made to aboriginals more than 20 years ago.
Horgan and the First Nations Leadership Council have also announced they’re working together on new legislation to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The premier says the share of gaming revenues will be a key part of the 2019 budget, while work continues on wording of legislation linked to the U.N. declaration.
Regional Chief Terry Teegee of the BC Assembly of First Nations says the two announcements are “historic and progressive action” to address issues related to jurisdiction and gaming revenue.
Horgan says the share of gaming funds will improve health, education and housing in all B.C. Indigenous communities and while he didn’t have a dollar figure, he assured the gathering it will be big, “somewhere between one and a whole bunch.”
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