Assembly of First Nations cancels or postpones all face-to-face meetings likely until end of March

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde (photo courtesy of AFN)

The Assembly of First Nations is either postponing or cancelling all in-person meetings due to the coronavirus outbreak.

That fellows the Dene Nations’s decision this week to do virtually the same.

In a news release, the AFN states that this includes, but is not limited to, all Chiefs Committees, Tri-Councils, working groups and other public events, whether scheduled to take place within the AFN’s offices or at an external venue.

All air, train and bus travel by staff, committee members and First Nations guests is also suspended through to March 31.

The AFN says it is directing each sector to take the appropriate measures and postpone or cancel all pending trips and meeting venues that fall within this time period, even if prior approval was obtained.

“The AFN will continue to closely monitor the Covid-19 situation and will re-evaluate this suspension once there is clear evidence that the Canadian and global public health emergency has abated,” the release states.

As community transmission increases within Canada and because of the potential impacts this virus could have on First Nation communities, the AFN says it is seeking to minimize any exposure to its staff and constituents.

About the Author

John McFadden
John has been in the broadcast journalism industry since the 1980s. He has been a reporter in Yellowknife since 2012 and joined CKLB in January of 2018. John covers the crime and court beat as well as reporting on other areas including politics, business, entertainment and sports. He won seven national community newspaper awards while he was a journalist with Northern News Services Limited (NNSL). John worked in Ontario before coming North including stints as a TV sportscaster in Peterborough and senior news writer for CBC and CTV in downtown Toronto.