The federal government says it is committed to working with Mi’kmaq First Nations in Nova Scotia to improve the income assistance program — though Ottawa has yet to provide details on the progress of negotiations.

The comments from Indigenous Services Canada and for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada are in response to criticism that there is a gap of more than $25 million a year between what First Nations people on reserve receive from Ottawa and what they would get from Nova Scotia if they lived off reserve.

Ta’n Etli-tpi’tmk, a group that represents 12 of 13 Mi’kmaq First Nations in Nova Scotia, has said some people living on reserve who rely on income assistance from Ottawa are being kept in deep poverty because of the inadequate assistance.

A spokesperson for In

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