November 4, 2014

Vic Dhillon, MPP – Brampton West
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs
160 Bloor Street East
4th Floor
Toronto, Ontario  M7A 2E6

Dear Vic:

It is an honour and a pleasure to have you as my Parliamentary Assistant. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs and to outline some of the important work that lies ahead of us.

As you know, our government has a plan to invest in the talent and skills of our people, build modern infrastructure, support a dynamic and innovative business climate, and provide better retirement security to people across the province. At the heart of this plan are partnerships with businesses, people and communities, which will help our government grow the economy, create jobs and implement solutions that have a meaningful impact on people’s lives.

This balanced and comprehensive plan is underpinned by a focus on fiscal prudence. The mandate letter I received last month from Premier Wynne reinforced our government’s commitment to balance the budget by 2017-18 and to pursue increased openness, accountability and modernization.

Parliamentary Assistants play a key role in delivering these priorities and have a responsibility to put our government’s plan into action.

The Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs is charged with the important task of leading cross-government initiatives that strengthen relationships with Aboriginal communities and improve outcomes for Aboriginal peoples — and, in turn, for all Ontarians. As Parliamentary Assistant, you will assist me in identifying options to increase Aboriginal voices in decision-making across government and to further Ontario’s efforts to build constructive, co-operative relationships with Aboriginal peoples.

As Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, your specific responsibilities include:

  • Improving drinking water on reserves, with a focus on remote communities. You will consult and engage with stakeholders to develop recommendations for our ministry’s collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, the Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs and the federal government to make substantive progress in providing First Nation reserves with access to safe drinking water.
  • Promoting public awareness, understanding and recognition of treaties and treaty rights. You will play a public role in the education and awareness campaign of the ministry’s new Treaty Strategy.
  • Ensuring that Aboriginal people share in the benefits of natural resources and are engaged in resource-related economic development. You will engage with selected stakeholders to further the government’s objective to ensure benefits sharing and a regional/sectoral approach that respects community-based planning.

I am confident that together, working in collaboration with our partners in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, we can deliver on our commitment to the people we are privileged to represent and serve. I look forward to working with you to deliver our ministry’s mandate, build Ontario up — and help achieve a brighter future for every person in this province.

Sincerely,

David Zimmer signature

David Zimmer
Minister of Aboriginal Affairs