Assembly of First Nations takes Trudeau to task over racism, rights and reconciliation
Prime minister pressed on broken promises, racism in policing and more during AFN's annual winter meeting
Grieving mothers whose children were killed by police made emotional pleas for the prime minister to act on Thursday, as Justin Trudeau found himself on the defensive during the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) annual winter meeting in Ottawa.
First Nations leaders pressed Trudeau on everything from racism in policing, broken promises from 2015 and a lack of consultation, after the prime minister took the stage for a speech flanked by the national chief and a small entourage of cabinet ministers.
"Back in 2015, I made a promise to change the approach of the federal government," Trudeau said.
The reaction was lukewarm, with some accusing the prime minister of breaking that promise by relying on the AFN to pass flawed legislation without consulting chiefs directly.
"You cannot delegate your legal duty to consult to the AFN, manipulating our consent," said Chief Kelsey Jacko of Cold Lake First Nations in Alberta, who was first to speak afterward.
"You must meet with the rights holders of these lands."
Some chiefs in Alberta called this week for the dissolution of the AFN, and a few voiced their displeasure to Trudeau directly. The AFN is national advocacy organization representing chiefs countrywide.
Trudeau replied that it's not up to the federal government to dictate who should speak for First Nations.
"If you want to look at something other than the AFN as a way of organizing yourselves, we will be there to work with whatever you decide is right for you," he said.
Perhaps the most powerful moment came when a group of grieving mothers whose children have died following interactions with police took the floor.
Edith Wells's son Jon Wells, 42, died in September following an interaction with municipal police in Calgary. He is one of 10 First Nations people who died by police in just a few months from August to November 2024.
"I have to live with the broken heart, the shattered soul. Every morning I wake up and I ask: help me to get through this day," Wells told Trudeau.
"Something needs to be done."
The assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution demanding Canada call a national inquiry into systemic racism in policing to address what they're calling "one inter-related epidemic" of violence and death.
The prime minister said he would "commit to doing everything in my power as a government to try and fix this."
He didn't address the call for an inquiry directly, however.
Singh questioned, Blanchet booed
Earlier, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh endorsed the demand for a national inquiry, calling the situation "heartbreaking" and "wrong."
"We need to get to the bottom of this. We need to clearly understand that there's something going on with systemic racism when it comes to policing and Indigenous people," he said.
But Singh didn't get a smooth ride either, as chiefs accused him of not returning their calls and snubbing requests for meetings.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet then made his first-ever speech to the assembly, which elicited boos at one point.
Cody Diabo, grand chief of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, near Montreal, had taken the floor to tell Blanchet the territory "is still our land" that was never surrendered.
"My ancestors were there when your ancestors arrived on boats," said Diabo.
He then invited Blanchet to have a broader conversation about the relationship "and how your people can start packing up."
"We are all very aware that we arrived here by boats hundreds of years ago. But I was not there, and neither were you," Blanchet said, garnering jeers from the room.
The one leader who wasn't present was Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, though Poilievre did address the assembly for the first time when he delivered a speech in July.
The debate later on Thursday pivoted to the future of the child welfare system, after chiefs voted to reject a 10-year, $47.8-billion federal offer to reform the program in October.
The chiefs confirmed their position on Wednesday, voting to continue renegotiation of the deal, which would end a 2007 complaint over the chronic underfunding of the on-reserve child welfare system at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT).
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu told the assembly she is disappointed with the result.
"Obviously, this was what we felt was a very good step forward. It actually exceeded the requests of the CHRT," Hajdu said.
National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has urged Canada to return to the table with a new mandate, but it remains unclear when and if that will happen.
The meeting concludes Thursday afternoon.
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