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With the splitting of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) into two departments, a move announced by the Trudeau Liberals in August, there’ll be one department in charge of negotiations with First Nation communities and another in charge of service delivery. And it will presumably become easier for the negotiating department to focus on signing an increased number of self-governing arrangements with more bands under the Indian Act.

Subsequently, the economic future of First Nations becomes more important. Bands under the oversight of the Indian Act should take steps toward their financial self-sufficiency now, in preparation for eventual self-government.

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INAC and its future incarnation should act now to ensure eventual self-reliance. This June, INAC Minister Carolyn Bennett announced that Ottawa was suspending a policy that saw the department claw back federal transfer funds from self-governing First Nations that generate their own funds. The new policy imposed a moratorium for up to three years until Ottawa could negotiate a new fiscal framework with the Indigenous community.