Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt ...

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt  said the federal government is working to make it easier for First Nations to received help after a natural disaster. The plan comes in the long shadow of flood evacuations in Manitoba that have been costly and prolonged. Ottawa is streamlining disaster relief so First Nations communities get funding more quickly. There is also a commitment of $19 million to help with emergency preparedness. “I truly believe that this new approach that I’m introducing today will put the emergency management on reserves on better footing and protect the well-being of First Nation residents much, much more effectively,” Valcourt said Nov. 19 at a meeting of a federal-provincial Aboriginal affairs working group. “We want First Nations to be able to get the same type of good response and services that other communities are getting.” About 2,000 Aboriginal evacuees are still displaced following Manitoba’s 2011 spring flood. Food and shelter has cost Ottawa about $88 million to date, and that number increases each month to the tune of $1.5 million.