It’s still several months away from the NDP Leadership Convention, but Charlie Angus, MP for Timmons-James Bay, is busy on the campaign trail, making stops on Vancouver Island in late March.
Already a strong advocate for the Aboriginal people he represents in his riding, Angus promises that if he wins the leadership race and the next federal election, he would do away with the Indian Act once and for all.
He said he is concerned about First Nations issues in Canada, especially in the areas of child welfare, education and the suicide crisis.
“Currently, (under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Government), things are still the same and kids are dying,” Angus told Ha-Shilth-Sa. “We want to put resources on the ground and controlled by the communities,” he continued.
Angus wants to see government power moved from the table and given to the people.
“Reconciliation is not just a hashtag,” he said.
According to his NDP biography, Charlie Angus has been the member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay since 2004. He is the national caucus chair for the New Democratic Party.
He has been voted Top Constituency MP in Canada and consistently voted among the most effective opposition MPs in the House of Commons.
He has been active on many social issues, including the fight for equal rights for First Nation children, as well as a national palliative care strategy.
Angus is the founder of Shannen’s Dream, a social justice campaign designed to raise awareness about inequitable funding for First Nations children.Angus said he got his political start at Algonquin Nations Tribal Government.
He is the author of seven published books, including the award-winning book Children of the Broken Treaty.
He is the lead singer for the Canadian band Grievous Angels.
In the 1980s Angus and his wife Brit Griffin ran a house for the homeless in Toronto.
Angus has worked as a journalist, chimney sweep, carpenter, First Nation negotiator and dishwasher.
Angus has been married for 30 years and has three daughters.
He stopped by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council offices for a brief visit with NTC President Debora Foxcroft on March 30.
