Russian-Canadian seminar on problems of Siberian Natives

A two-day Russian-Canadian seminar, The System of Monitoring of the Socio-Economic and Environmental Situation and the Position of Natives of Northern Regions of the Siberian Federal District, has opened in Novosibirsk (the administrative centre of the Novosibirsk region in Western Siberia).

At a session of the working group on the implementation of a Canadian-Russian project, The Exchange of Experience in Managing the Development of Northern Territories, which was held yesterday, the Russian presidential plenipotentiary in the Siberian federal district, Leonid Drachevsky, recalled that there was an agreement between Russia and Canada on the implementation of the mentioned pilot project on the basis of the Siberian federal district.

The project stipulates assistance to Russia in solving problems faced by Northern regions such as the reorganisation of relations between Federation constituents and the Russian government, those between Federation constituents and local governments and the enhancing of the potential of local government bodies.

The Siberia district information centre reported that special sections of the document are dedicated to issues of budget federalism, harmonisation of legislation, the co-ordination of activities of territorial bodies of federal ministries and departments, social policy, civil rights and representations and economic development of regions.