Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told Indigenous leaders gathered in Montreal Thursday that their children “could be the richest in the world” if they agree to partner in natural resource development projects, something he has promised to encourage.
“If reconciliation means anything, it means saying yes to the economic opportunities that First Nations are asking for,” Poilievre said in a speech delivered mostly in English at the annual gathering of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN).
In his view, Canada is rich in natural resources whose exploitation is essential to ensure economic growth and the well-being of the country’s first peoples. His narrative places the Trudeau government and its minister “crazy” [« wacko »] Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault as what is preventing Aboriginal people from “regaining control over their resources.”
He proposes a model that will “simplify” negotiations between indigenous communities and mining and oil projects, for example, by allowing them to impose their own taxes and conditions.
“That means listening to you when you have concerns about projects, yes, but it also means listening to you when you support development. […] “Your right to say yes is as important as your right to say no,” argued the politician who is currently leading national polls.
The Conservative leader did not fail to throw a dart at the big companies that would consider flying in foreign workers for their operations. “They should offer these jobs to indigenous youth.”
Same values?
Pierre Poilievre began his speech by assuring that he shares “the values of pre-colonial institutions,” such as faith in a supreme creator, attachment to traditions and the entrepreneurship demonstrated by the first peoples in trade. Even though he was in Quebec, he only spoke about twenty words in French, acknowledging his presence on the traditional lands of the Kanien’kehá nation: ka.
Some Indigenous leaders turned their backs on the Conservative leader during his speech in protest. During a short question-and-answer session, a British Columbia Indigenous leader, Judy Wilson of the Neskonlith Nation, accused him of remaining silent on the climate emergency, and of not saying a word about missing and murdered Indigenous women or the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“If you’re working to be the prime minister of Canada, that tells me you still have a lot of education to do,” she said. Another Indigenous leader pointed out that many communities are aware of the value of the resources, but want to leave the land as it is.
As if to respond, New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh also delivered a speech to AFN delegates. He directly accused Pierre Poilievre of lying to them and of tolerating residential school deniers in his ranks.
“He will never do what is necessary to ensure justice for the indigenous people! He will reduce your services and make you responsible for the difficulties you are experiencing,” he raged.
Right to consent
The NDP leader offered his own version of reconciliation between Ottawa and Indigenous peoples, which “cannot happen until we respect [leur] right to informed consent.” He promises to build a nation-to-nation relationship, while blaming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for failing to do so.
Jagmeet Singh, for his part, presented the grounds of the Palais des congrès de Montréal as unceded Mohawk territory. He had been in the Quebec metropolis since the day before to launch the NDP campaign for the upcoming by-election in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was busy Thursday in Washington, D.C., attending the NATO summit. On Wednesday, Indigenous leaders expressed their dissatisfaction with his government to his representative at the AFN assembly, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree.
The Canadian Press reported that the new national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, briefed the country’s chiefs on a proposed $47.8 billion deal with Ottawa on child welfare reforms.