The troubled northern Ontario First Nations community of Attawapiskat will remain under third-party management for now, but Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan suggested the measure may only be temporary.
Duncan met with Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence on Thursday in Thunder Bay to try hammering out a plan to deal with the First Nations community's many problems.
After the meeting, Duncan suggested to the band that it will soon once again be in charge of its own finances -- something Spence has been pushing for, even to the point of threatening legal action.
Duncan also said construction would begin on a new school in the spring. Attawapiskat hasn't had a permanent elementary school for 12 years, with students attending classes in portables ever since the previous school was shut down.
The pair, along with other area chiefs, met for 90 minutes at the regional Aboriginal Affairs office.
Duncan and Spence have been locked in a heated war of words over what's being done about the deplorable living conditions on the northern Ontario reserve.
While they have agreed on the method of delivery for emergency aid, providing winter shelter and assembling and delivering 22 modular homes for the community, they have been at loggerheads over the government's decision to introduce third-party management of the reserve's finances.
Spence insists the band wants to maintain its independence and has called for Duncan's resignation and has threatened to sue over the appointment of the third-party manager.
Duncan has stated publicly that Spence agreed to the move -- a claim the chief vehemently denies.
It will be the band that has to pay the costs of the outside manager as he audits the band finances at a rate of $1,300 per day. The contract for that work is expected to cost the community about $180,000 -- money that will come out of the impoverished First Nation's already tangled finances.
Ottawa has to stop acting like a bully before anything can be resolved, said Pamela Palmater, from Ryerson's Centre for Indigenous Governance, on CTV's Power Play.
The federal government should "focus on the actual issue at hand, which is providing emergency management services" rather than trying to impose a third-party manager on the beleaguered reserve, she said Thursday.
While Dunacn and Spence agreed to meet in neutral territory to try to clear the air, there have been some tough words exchanged between them.
"Their relationship you could describe as fairly acrimonious and somewhat fractious as well," said CTV's Omar Sachedina, reporting from Thunder Bay.
Attawapiskat was thrust into the spotlight last month after leaders declared a state of emergency due to a housing shortage and the fact many residents are living in squalid conditions.
