QNW reacts to the decision of Minister Kelley

Kahnawake, June 12th 2018 – The Minister responsible for Native affairs, Geoffrey Kelley, has recently announced his departure from political life. Québec Native Women would like to thank Minister Kelley for his many years of work on Indigenous issues, and wishes him all the best for the future.

During his three mandates as Minister responsible for Native affairs, QNW has worked in close collaboration with Minister Kelley in order to ensure the realization of different projects within the organization, and we have joined efforts to work for the defense of Indigenous women’s rights. Minister Kelley has always demonstrated a willingness to understand the issues on which we work, and has maintained an efficient and constructive collaboration.

QNW sends its warmest wishes to Minister Kelley, and will carefully await the selection of his successor. QNW encourages the future government to select a First Nations person for the position of Minister responsible for Native affairs, in order to ensure the best representativity possible for this ministry. “It is high time that the government truly demonstrates a willingness to develop a peer-to-peer relationship, by selecting an Indigenous person to represent Indigenous people,” notes Viviane Michel, President of Québec Native Women.

Québec Native Women (QNW) is an association that has represented, since 1974, First Nations women of Québec who live in Indigenous communities and in urban centres, by supporting their efforts to improve their living conditions and those of their families through the promotion of non-violence, justice, equality in rights and health. QNW is a member of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, and sits at the Assembly of First Nations Québec-Labrador.

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Source :
Julia Couture-Glassco, Communication Officer
communication@faq-qnw.org | 450-632-0088, ext. 232