N.S. First Nations hail welfare decision – The Chronicle Herald

December 10, 2015

SYDNEY — Nova Scotia’s Mi’kmaq leaders say they are breathing a sigh of relief after hearing that the federal government has halted forthcoming changes to First Nations social assistance rates.

Aboriginal leaders say Carolyn Bennett, the federal minister of indigenous and northern affairs, told them Thursday she doesn’t intend to enforce program changes scheduled to occur April 1.

Under the former Harper Conservative government, plans were forged to align First Nation welfare rates to those of their non-native counterparts.

“She recognized that we need (to) study and see where there are gaps and differences and find a permanent solution,” said Leroy Denny, chief of the Eskasoni First Nation who was part of a delegation that travelled to Ottawa.

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