The City of North Battleford is backtracking after a negative phrase about Aboriginal people found its way into the 2013 preliminary budget.
The phrase describes “the negatives of increasing First Nations populations.”
City manager Jim Toye says somehow the phrase, which is from an old strategic plan, found its way into the current document.
He says the phrase may have been reflective of a view once held but today the city views the Aboriginal population as a positive part of the community.
In fact, Toye says the paragraph as a whole talks positively about the potential for growth, thanks to Aboriginal people.
“The council sees an increasing Aboriginal population as a positive, not a negative,” he says. “It opens the door for potential labour force, it opens the door for partnerships.”
North Battleford Mayor Ian Hamilton chalks it up to poor wording.
“We want to, as we go forward, to embrace the diversity and opportunities that exist in partnering with First Nations,” he says.
In spite of this, Toye says the phrase won’t be dropped from the preliminary budget but it probably won’t appear in the final budget document.