Aboriginal Affairs minister sorry for telling NDP MP to listen to her father

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Aboriginal Affairs Minitser Bernard Valcourt stands in the House of Commons during Question Period on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Friday April 19, 2013 THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand

OTTAWA – Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt says he’s sorry he told an NDP MP to consult with her father about a Conservative bill to protect matrimonial rights on reserves.

Valcourt made the remark in response to criticisms from MP Niki Ashton, whose father Steve Ashton is a cabinet minister in the Manitoba government.

Manitoba has said it supports the Conservative bill, which aims to allow spouses living both on and off reserves the right to claim a share of the family’s assets in case of a marriage breakdown.

Ashton said she was “offended” by Valcourt’s reference to her father, and Valcourt then apologized.

The legislation has provoked tempers on all sides of the House since 2008, with critics saying the government is being too paternalistic in designing the legislation.

The government argues that opposition parties have been standing in the way of important protections for aboriginal women.

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