The Manitoba government has signed an agreement with the province's First Nations to transfer $20 million in lottery revenue over five years into an economic development fund, CBC News has learned.
The agreement, the first of its kind in the province, seals a deal that had been in the works for months. In August, the province agreed in principle to give $20 million from the general revenue of Manitoba Lotteries to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to put into a First Nations economic development fund.
Operation of the fund will be overseen by a joint committee of provincial and assembly officials.
The province's agreement is intended to compensate First Nations for not upholding a promise it had made to approve five native casinos, as was recommended in a 1997 report on First Nations gaming policy. The province has approved only two such casinos since the report came out.
Some First Nations leaders had rejected the agreement when the assembly discussed it in August, arguing that the province should hand over more money.
Chief hopes to see more revenue-sharing deals
Chief Dennis Meeches of the Long Plain First Nation said Monday he hopes the newly signed arrangement will be the first of many in which the province shares income with First Nations.
"This is the first time that we have a revenue-sharing agreement with the Province of Manitoba in this particular industry. And you know, it opens the door for future revenue-sharing agreements in other industries, other sectors," said Meeches, who had negotiated with the province for the deal on behalf of the assembly.
"There's a lot of big things out there — the lumber industry, there's fishing, there's mining. [We're] hoping to be able to work towards some kind of resource-sharing agreement on these things."
But Dave Chomiak, the minister responsible for gaming, said the lottery revenue deal is very specific and should not be treated as a model for future agreements.
"This has been a developing process that occurred over a decade," Chomiak said Monday. "I can't speculate on other agreements."
Meeches said access to natural resources has been a sticking point between First Nations and provincial governments for a lot longer than gaming has. He said more revenue-sharing deals could go a long way to making life better for First Nations people.
"It may not be the answer to all the problems, but it will go a long way to solving [the] economic issues that we have," he said.
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