Canada gov't: worried about aboriginal towns in wake of shooting

By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Canada's government, grappling
with a fatal attack in a remote aboriginal town, is very
concerned about the "tragic and alarming" conditions in other
indigenous communities, a top official said on Sunday.
A 17-year-old boy was due to appear in court on Monday,
charged with four counts of murder after Friday's deadly
incident in La Loche, am impoverished town in the western
province of Saskatchewan.
Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took power last year
promising to tackle high levels of poverty, crime, bad housing
and poor health among aboriginals, who make up 4 percent of the
country's population of 36 million.
House leader Dominic LeBlanc, a key Trudeau ally from the
Atlantic province of New Brunswick, told reporters Ottawa would
work with aboriginal leaders "to deal with some of the tragic
and alarming social indicators in many of these communities".
He added: "I have some of these communities ... in New
Brunswick. I worry about them a great deal, and our whole
government does."
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and federal Public Safety
Minister Ralph Goodale arrived in La Loche on Sunday, the
Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Trudeau last month promised a new "nation-to-nation
relationship with First Nations peoples" - a term that
aboriginals use to refer to themselves - and said he would
increase funding for indigenous communities.
Trudeau's chief spokeswoman said he had no plans to address
the media on Sunday.
LeBlanc said improving the lot of the First Nations was "a
huge challenge".
Robert Nault, who served as aboriginal affairs minister
under the Liberals from 1999 to 2003, said real change would
take a long time.
"So we're going to have to be patient and start ... working
on the lack of infrastructure, the lack of housing, to change
our relationship as it relates to education and healthcare," he
said in an interview. "It is a slow process."