Indigenous leaders put new hope in Crown-Indigenous Relations minister Anandasangaree

new minister,'' said Caron.

The NDP's critic for Crown-Indigenous relations, Lori Idlout, isn't as optimistic.

dasangaree said.

OTTAWA — Indigenous leaders say they are hopeful that new Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree will take inspiration from his predecessor's approach with organizations, community members and leadership.

David Pratt, the first vice-chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, said outgoing minister Marc Miller did a ``exemplary job'' on the file.

He said he hopes the new minister has the same motivation and desire to build meaningful relationships.

``The days of prime ministers and premiers sitting together making decisions about Indigenous Peoples is over,'' he added.

``And we need to be included in all conversations about our rights, our lands and our children's future.''

Anandasangaree is one of seven new ministers who were sworn in on Wednesday as part of a major reset to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet.

The human-rights lawyer was first elected in 2015 to represent Scarborough-Rouge Park in the Greater Toronto Area. He served as the parliamentary secretary for a previous Crown-Indigenous relations minister from 2019 until 2021, and he sat on the House Indigenous and northern affairs committee for six years.

Miller, who has served as Crown-Indigenous relations minister since 2021, is taking on a new role as the immigration minister.

Metis National Council president Cassidy Caron echoed Pratt's comments and noted that the new minister's previous experiences mean he is already familiar with the files.

``I have full faith in the

She said the government has broken ``far too many promises'' to Inuit, First Nations and Metis Peoples.

Idlout cited ongoing housing crises and infrastructure gaps, in addition to the government's ``slow'' implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action.

``Another restart on the Crown-Indigenous Relations portfolio must see changes towards improvements,'' said Idlout.

``Minister Anandasangaree has a monumental task ahead of him.''

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said it's frustrated with the change in cabinet, but ``looks forward'' to working with Anandasangaree on issues facing the 62 First Nations it represents.

``We hope that Minister Gary Anandasangaree can help us and be an ally ... and assist us in bringing our loved ones located in the Prairie Green Landfill and the Brady Landfill home,'' said Grand Chief Cathy Merrick.

Miller previously committed to try and help bring home the bodies of two murdered First Nations women that are believed to be in a landfill near Winnipeg after Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said the province would not support a search.

When asked by reporters gathered outside Rideau Hall if he would keep the pressure on Manitoba, Anandasangaree said it's a heart-wrenching issue that he's been following closely.

``I will engage with those who are directly impacted, particularly the families, and ensure we have a solution they feel is appropriate,'' Anan-

At the same press conference, Miller said he was saddened to leave the post, and that the relationships he's built over the years with Indigenous leaders and community members have been particularly meaningful to him.

``I trust (Anandasangaree) will be able to take this over successfully,'' said Miller.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami said it's looking forward to working with both new and returning members to cabinet, and thanked outgoing ministers for their ``dedication to Inuit

wellbeing.''

Max FineDay, the chief executive officer of Indigenous-led policy and government relations firm Warshield, wants to see Anandasangaree live up to his words and hit the ground running this summer _ a time where many Indigenous com- munities hold ceremonies and gatherings.

``First Nations have their hand extended to the minister,'' said FineDay.

``It's my hope he reaches back and takes theirs.'' know the score.

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Chiefs win double over Kodiaks ahead of series Rivermen take it to the limit one more time

TWO ROW TIMES

With notes from sixnationschiefs.blogspot.com

SIX NATIONS — Coming away from their last week of regular season games, the Six Nations Senior ‘A’ Chiefs tallied two wins against the Cobourg Kodiaks after swapping arenas.

The home match for the Chiefs saw them back at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena to face the Ko-diaks on Tuesday, July 25.

The start of the first period went to the Kodiaks. Four fast goals were put away before the Chiefs got on the board when Lyle Thompson flipped a pass to Randy Staats. The Kodiaks buried two more before Bryan Cole scored on the powerplay off a Lyle Thompson pass with less than two minutes left.

The Kodiaks opened the scoring in the second period, but Austin Staats answered from a Bryan Cole feed minutes later. Randy Staats then followed through from a Lyle Thompson pass on the powerplay at 7:21, but a single goal restored the four goal Kodiaks lead, 8-4. Coming to the the last six minutes of the period, Austin Staats narrowed the lead with a bury from Cody Jamieson, followed by a Lyle Thompson goal from Jeremy Thompson.

Lyle Thompson scored again to bring the game within one goal, converting an Austin Staats pass only 26 seconds later. Austin Staats then tied the game from a Brendan Bomberry pass and the Chiefs continued.

Sam LeClair buried, and Tyson Bell scored with just 10 seconds left in the period.

In the third period, the Kodiaks opened scoring on the power play, but the Chiefs answered on a power play of their own with Randy Staats converting an Austin Staats feed.

Brendan Bomberry scored from a Randy Staats pass to give the Chiefs a threegoal lead with just over two minutes left in the period. This ended the game 12-9 for the Chiefs.

The away match saw the Chiefs earn a 13-11 win over the Kodiaks on Sunday in their final game of the season.

Kodiaks opened the scoring but the Chiefs fired back with two quick goals, one for Cody Jamieson and another for Sam LeClair within 30 seconds of each other. Shayne Jackson increased the lead with another goal before Larson Sundown scored from a Brad Kri pass, finishing the first 10 minutes of play. The Kodiaks got back in the game converting a power play goal and two more to close out the period, with a second goal from Larson Sundown, making the score 5-4 for the Chiefs.

In the second period, the Kodiaks kicked off with a single, but Brendan Bomberry answered for the Chiefs from Sam LeClair. Kodiaks earned another, but two more from Sam LeClair, includ-ing a power-play goal gave the Chiefs a two-goal advantage. However, the Kodiaks erased the lead with two more before the end of play.

In the third period, Shayne Jackson scored his second goal of the game from Lyle Thompson, before Lyle Thompson himself scored unassisted just 16 seconds later.

Two more went up for the Kodiaks, while Cody Jamieson once again gave the Chiefs the lead. But the Kodiaks earned one more, before Shayne Jackson buried off a Cody Jamieson pass. To close out the game 13-11, Larson Sundown earned his third goal of the game to finish off the period.

Winning against the Peterborough Lakers in July put the Chiefs in the first place spot over the Lakers with a ranking of 12 wins and two losses, versus 10 wins and four losses. This placed them further above third place Brooklin Lacrosse Club, followed by the Cobourg Kodiaks and the Brampton Excelsiors, consecutively.

The matches against the Kodiaks were a prelude to their series with them set to begin this Wednesday on August 2, at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.

SIX

‘B’ Rivermen completed their regular season in third place, after the Brooklin Merchants in second and the Oakville Rock in first. On one end of the league, the Oakville Rock rook the Owen Sound North Stars 3-0 in their series. But the Rivermen and Brooklin Merchants seem evenly matched, 2-2 going into Game 5 on August 1. As for Game 1, the Rivermen delivered a swift defeat 14-7 at the Luther Vipond Memorial Arena. Returning home for Game 2, the Merchants earned a win 8-3. Visiting the Iroquois Park Sports Centre, the Merchants earned another victory, putting the pressure on the Rivermen. Returning to the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena, the Rivermen held fast to a one goal lead and finished Game 4 13-12. Rivermen met the Merchants on Tuesday night and defeated them 7-6. Jake Bomberry said, "Huge 7-6 win tonight! We advance to the Ontario Final vs. Oakville." 2RT STAFF AND ODELL ALEXANDER