Indigenous leaders were braced for change after the last federal election, when Prime Minister Mark Carney’s win ushered in a new look for the Liberal government after 10 years under Justin Trudeau.
That change has compelled those leaders to build relationships with new cabinet ministers and a revolving cast of public servants working on Indigenous files.
First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders have a long list of priorities they want the federal government to work on, including the introduction of a series of bills on self-government and clean drinking water.
Here’s what they’ll be watching for.
First Nations
At the Assembly of First Nations assembly last December, Carney promised to hold a meeting between First Nations leaders, the federal government and premiers.
AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak and her predecessors have been calling for such a meeting for a long time. The last one occurred during the Kelowna Accord talks in 2005.
Woodhouse Nepinak said a meeting is “long overdue.” She called for cross-jurisdictional work to address long-standing socioeconomic gaps between First Nations and Canadians, to reconcile the country’s push to develop major projects with the need to respect First Nations rights, and to discuss separatist threats in Quebec and Alberta.
“The first ministers meeting can’t be a one-and-done. We’re going to need an ongoing federal-provincial process to make sure there isn’t 20 years between meetings,” Woodhouse Nepinak said.
Indigenous leaders in recent years have been invited to participate in first ministers meetings, but not during deliberations. Woodhouse Nepinak has often referred to Indigenous leaders’ role in these meetings as being relegated to the “kiddie table.”
Woodhouse Nepinak is also keeping an eye on the government’s progress on economic reconciliation, policing in First Nations communities, the infrastructure gap and implementation of the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The recommendations coming out of those inquiries have languished under both Trudeau and Carney.
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The federal government also failed to fulfil its promise to introduce First Nations clean water legislation during the fall sitting of Parliament. While Ottawa has promised to do so this spring, Woodhouse Nepinak said she fears the legislation will be watered down by omitting protections for source water on First Nations territories that were included in the original bill.
Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty has refused to say if source water protection will be in the bill.
Métis
Métis groups in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan do not currently have self-government legislation before Parliament. A bill that would have legislated their self-government died on Trudeau’s watch.
Some First Nations opposed that bill, warning that it could interfere with their rights.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty said talks with the Métis Nations of Saskatchewan and Alberta are nearing their end.
A bill that would recognize the Manitoba Métis Federation’s self-government was introduced earlier this month.
MMF president David Chartrand called the legislation welcome news.
“It’s been a long journey and I look forward to that being concluded and history being corrected,” Chartrand said of the legislation.
But that bill is making waves among Métis organizations since it would allow Manitoba Métis members who live outside the province to maintain their ties to the MMF, rather than being required to join the provincial organization where they now live.
Métis National Council president Victoria Pruden said the Manitoba Métis treaty should not be allowed to define the entirety of the Métis Nation.
The MMF used to be a member of the Métis National Council, but now the council represents just two Métis groups in Alberta and Ontario.
“As Bill C-21 proceeds through Parliament, the Métis National Council and its governing members will engage constructively in the parliamentary review and committee process,” Pruden said.
“Our objective is clear: to ensure that the rights, interests, and jurisdictions of Métis governments and the citizens they represent are fully respected, and that Canada’s assurances are clearly reflected in both the legislative record and the implementation of this treaty.”
Both the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Métis National Council are looking for movement on the federal government’s major projects agenda. They say Métis must play a central role in the government’s efforts to reshape the national economy.
Chartrand said he also wants the federal government to seriously tackle the issue of Indigenous identity fraud, Métis child welfare and health care.
Inuit
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed said he’s looking for movement on infrastructure in the North. A lack of adequate housing, roads, schools and internet connectivity in the region is affecting both Inuit and Canada’s Arctic security.
“It isn’t hyperbole to say that the 51 Inuit communities that comprise Inuit Nunangat provide the bedrock for Canadian sovereignty,” Obed said.
“The cheapest way to assure territorial sovereignty is really through the investment in our communities.”
Obed also wants the federal government to work on implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to allow for greater mobility of Inuit between Greenland, Canada and Alaska.
On Thursday, Ottawa announced a series of measures for Inuit communities, including $50 million to help develop Inuit Nunangat University. The university would be the first in the North and the first in Canada to focus on promoting Inuit languages and supporting economic and cultural opportunities in the region.
The funding package also included money to renew for one year the Inuit Child First Initiative, which provides access to health and social services otherwise unavailable in Inuit communities. Ottawa also earmarked money to help fight tuberculosis in the North and funding for the Nutrition North food subsidy.
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