Three Tsilhqot’in Chiefs were in Ottawa meeting with various ministers and party leaders last week.
Advocating for the Tsilhqot’in people were Chief Russell Myers Ross, Chief Francis Laceese, and Chief Jimmy Lulula.
The week-long trip follows Prime Minister’s Justin Trudeau historic visit to Declared Title Lands in November last year, and the main topic of the meeting according to the Tsilhqot’in National Government was the potential for a ‘transformative change’ agreement with British Columbia and Canada that would bring real change to the lives of Tsilhqot’in people.
Speaking with Canada’s Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Ross, Laceese, and Lulula followed up on the commitment by Minister Carolyn Bennett and Trudeau to bring real change by supporting housing renovations and new housing starts in each of the Tsilhqot’in communities.
The Chiefs also emphasized the opportunity for Canada to partner with Xeni Gwet’in and the Nation in the Declared Title Area to make it a world-class showcase of Indigenous leadership.
Chiefs Joe Alphonse, Otis Guichon, and Roy Stump who stayed in their communities to deal with community business were absent from the trip.