Aboriginal leaders meeting PM, first ministers

OTTAWA – Aboriginal leaders will make their case for billions of dollars in federal support to deal with the economic downturn when they meet Thursday with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the provincial and territorial premiers.

Harper and the 13 premiers will meet Thursday evening with the leaders of the five main aboriginal organizations: the Assembly of First Nations, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Metis National Council and the Native Women’s Association of Canada.

Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine will hold a news conference on Parliament Hill at 11:30 a.m. to discuss the upcoming federal budget and the need for an economic stimulus package for First Nations.

In a letter to the prime minister this week, Fontaine proposed a federal injection in the budget of roughly $8 billion over five years, including a $3-billion stimulus package that would include money for housing and education.

Meanwhile, the mayors of Canada’s 22 biggest cities arrived here Thursday morning with a list of "shovel-ready" infrastructure projects for which they hope the federal government will quickly approve funding.

Since the October federal election, the Harper government has made it a priority to accelerate the approval of infrastructure projects such as bridges, highways and dams.

The provincial premiers are also expected to put infrastructure high on their agenda when they meet separately with the prime minister on Friday morning.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is expected to consider the input from the premiers as he puts the finishing touches on the federal budget, to be tabled on Jan. 27, a day after Parliament returns.