Finance Minister Bill Morneau talks budget 2016 with business crowd in Vancouver

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VANCOUVER – Canada’s finance minister has wrapped up a visit to the West Coast by focusing on the Liberal government’s investment in indigenous peoples across the country.

Bill Morneau reminded a sold-out crowd at a Greater Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon of the $8.4 billion earmarked over five years to restore the historical relationship between the Crown and Canada’s aboriginal peoples.

He says more than two-thirds of that funding will go towards indigenous education, both for building infrastructure and developing programs.

Morneau’s comments come a day after the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal issued a damning report ordering Ottawa to take immediate action to ensure First Nations children can access necessary services without getting caught in red tape.

In a landmark ruling in January, the tribunal ordered Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada to remove restrictions on child-welfare rules that complicate First Nations youth receiving services.

Morneau says the federal spending is directed at improving graduation rates and bolstering workforce participation, which is of special concern as Canada’s population ages.

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