The Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation (IAFNER; formerly the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs) is the Government of Ontarioministry 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.
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:
promote collaboration and coordination across ministries on Aboriginal policy and programs;
set priorities for and track the progress of Ontario's Aboriginal agenda;
enhance government's awareness of Aboriginal people, issues and best practices for consulting and engaging with Aboriginal people;
work with the federal government to find ways to make the most of federal funding;
help Aboriginal people to access Ontario government programs, services and information;
reform the land claims process to help address historical grievances; and
encourage diversity, especially representation of Aboriginal people, in the Ontario Public Service.
The ministry has four key priorities:
Stronger Indigenous Relationships;
Improved Social Conditions;
Economic Opportunity and Sustainability; and
Enhanced Land Claim Settlements and Reconciliation.
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.[citation needed]
The MIA is currently in negotiations with the Government of Canada and the Algonquins of Ontario First Nation (AOO) to resolve aboriginal title to 36,000 square kilometres (14,000 sq mi) 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.[2]
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