Indigenous Services minister says community shouldn't worry about zeros in budget

OTTAWA - The Indigenous Services minister says community leaders shouldn't worry about zeros in the recent federal budget for programs their members rely on.

Mandy Gull-Masty says those holes are an opportunity for leaders to suggest where the government should allocate money in the future.

The budget froze annual base funding for Indigenous health and social services and treaty work.

Gull-Masty says this amounts to a two per cent cut at a time when other ministers were told to trim spending by 15 per cent.

Indigenous leaders worry the cuts go far beyond the advertised two per cent, with funding for Trudeau-era programs — including education and emergency management — set to expire next year,

This budget, unlike previous ones, has no specific chapter on Indigenous spending, with a hea