FSIN Offered Concessions For Smoke-Free Casinos

FSIN Offered Concessions For Smoke-Free Casinos

Friday, January 21, 2005 at 15:14

Saskatchewan’s First Nations Relations Minister is clarifying comments he made earlier this week regarding the dispute over smoking in native casinos.

On Tuesday, Maynard Sonntag told reporters that the government might be willing to give concessions to First Nations groups on rights issues, in exchange for the complete banning of smoking in native casinos.

Sonntag says both the province and Ottawa are committed to advancing the First Nations agenda regardless of what happens in this dispute.

However, he says there might be things both levels of government could offer bands in exchange for enacting on-reserve bylaws that have the same effect as the provincial bylaw.

Sonntag refuses to discuss what those areas of concession might be.