(Ottawa) The new head of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) wants to build bridges with the Conservative Party and its leader Pierre Poilievre.
Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak hopes to avoid repeating the tensions and frustrations that spawned the “Idle No More” movement in 2012.
This legacy of the Stephen Harper era continues to influence how young activists and Indigenous leaders still perceive the Conservative Party.
Mme Woodhouse Nepinak is hopeful that Mr. Poilievre will agree to work with First Nations to avoid establishing strained relations, as was the case during the Conservatives’ years in power.
The young people were so frustrated [de l’ancien gouvernement conservateur]. It was out of this frustration that the Idle No More movement was born. This is not the kind of relationship I want to establish.
Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak
Idle No More is an Indigenous protest movement sparked by the Jobs and Growth Act introduced in 2012 by the Harper government.
Mme Woodhouse Nepinak, who was elected leader of the AFN in December, remembers that First Nations leaders and the Conservative government simply weren’t sitting at the same table.
Her meeting with Pierre Poilievre last month went well, she says.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party
She urged Mr. Poilievre to vote against Bill C-53 aimed at recognizing Métis governments in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan. First Nations fear that this recognition will encroach on their own rights.
A spokesperson for Mr. Poilievre cannot say whether he will attend the AFN annual meeting in July and address the chiefs in person. Since being elected leader of the Conservative Party in September 2022, he has limited himself to recording welcoming words to AFN delegates.
Mr. Poilievre, however, met with chiefs to promise them that a Conservative government would not interfere in their affairs, especially when it comes to promoting economic growth through oil and gas development.
A spokesperson for Conservative Leader Sebastian Skamski says Poilievre has promised dozens of leaders to introduce legislation on resource revenue sharing
This plan “will promote reconciliation from an economic point of view by giving First Nations the opportunity to derive more revenue from projects built on their territory,” adds Mr. Skamski.
This will allow them “to regain control over their money, their decisions and their lives”.
Relations between the First Nations and Mr. Poilievre did not get off to an encouraging start. In December 2022, the Conservative leader’s video was greeted with boos.
Scott McLeod, the chief of the Nipissing First Nation, was one of the disgruntled.
Mr. McLeod stood on the stage to tell the organizers to no longer “present this type of video before the victims of residential schools”.
Mr. Poilievre’s absence had upset the leaders even more, even more than his message, Mr. McLeod suggested.
Today, the leader wants to listen to the conservatives.
“My hopes are not high,” he admits. But I’m ready to hear what they offer before throwing in the gloves. »
According to him, the chiefs fear that a Conservative government will try to reduce spending in sectors that Aboriginal people consider priorities.
“Budgets are already tight,” says Mr. McLeod. We will have to think long and hard before thinking about supporting a party other than the Liberals. »
Cindy Blackstock, a First Nations children’s rights activist, believes it is still too early to predict the future.
“I always judge governments by what they do, not what they say. »