Dan Mazier, MP for Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, attended the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the signing of Treaty 2 on Skownan First Nation last Wednesday.
Mazier says that he was truly impressed by the new partnership between Skownan First Nation and Mossey River Municipality that was announced at the event.
"[They] entered into [the] agreement... to try to start talking about the common issues that are in their jurisdictions at the local level, which, having 38 municipalities in the riding and 14 first nations... I have to say is very commendable. I really like that type of approach... It was really good to see those communities talking about those issues right away," he adds.
Mazier looks forward to the many discussions coming forward while saying that the role of municipalities and First Nations is much more in tune with what local needs are.
According to Mazier, this partnership is a positive thing for reconciliation.
"It's about learning about each other and what are those issues... In this particular case, it's two neighbours basically trying to reconcile or [trying] to figure out what is their common need... That's really at the heart of... a good path of figuring out how to reconcile things for the community," he adds.
Mazier says that he would like to see more of these partnerships across Canada, especially in the riding he represents.
"I think we've got a huge challenge of getting [the] government's attention, especially in Ottawa... and rural areas are forgotten about... It's part of my job, but it definitely works better when... neighbours are talking amongst themselves and they have a unified voice of what they need in their jurisdictions... I think it's a really good model for all of Canada to look at and it would work anywhere there's municipal and First Nation jurisdictions living right beside each other," he adds.
Mazier also says that they would help bridge the rural-government divide to make rural Canadians feel less left out.
