The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is denouncing a federal budget that she says all but ignores the needs of the communities she represents.
The federal government is neglecting a long-standing promise to close the widening First Nations infrastructure gap by 2030, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said Wednesday in Ottawa.
And her fellow chiefs are angry that they were not consulted on the federal governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 plans to transform federal land into housing for Canadians.
SA国际影视传媒淣ow, more than ever, we need to be working together in a good way to make sure First Nations and Canada achieve our full potential by working together and continuing on the path of reconciliation,SA国际影视传媒� Woodhouse Nepinak said.
SA国际影视传媒淲hich, unfortunately, I did not hear in the speech yesterday.SA国际影视传媒�
Neither Finance Minister Chrystia FreelandSA国际影视传媒檚 3,500-word budget speech Tuesday nor Prime Minister Justin TrudeauSA国际影视传媒檚 remarks to caucus Wednesday made mention of reconciliation or Indigenous Peoples.
Woodhouse Nepinak called FreelandSA国际影视传媒檚 speech SA国际影视传媒渁larming.SA国际影视传媒�
ItSA国际影视传媒檚 a far cry from 2015, when a new, more productive relationship with Indigenous Peoples was a key plank in TrudeauSA国际影视传媒檚 successful Liberal election platform.
The Indigenous services minister says the government remains committed to the same ideals, despite there being no mention of Indigenous Peoples in the speeches.
SA国际影视传媒淚 wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 say $9 billion is a drop in priority,SA国际影视传媒� Patty Hajdu told reporters after the Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday, referring to the total sum of money put forward in the budget for Indigenous communities.
SA国际影视传媒淚 think that our ambitious investments have gone a long way. We have more, for example, in schools and housing in this budget, but weSA国际影视传媒檙e going to need to be very solutions focusedSA国际影视传媒� to close the infrastructure gap, she said.
Woodhouse Nepinak, meanwhile, said she wants Trudeau and Freeland to explain the budget themselves in person when the AFN meets in Montreal in July.
A recent AFN report found it will take $349 billion to bring Indigenous infrastructure to the same standard as elsewhere in Canada SA国际影视传媒� and that without prompt action, the gap will only continue to grow.
Trudeau pledged to close the infrastructure gap by 2030, but the federal auditor general concluded earlier this year that itSA国际影视传媒檚 only getting wider.
The needs include housing, water treatment plants, roads, schools and ports, among other things.
The AFN is also upset about not being consulted on the federal governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 budget promise to earmark underused federal lands to ease CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 housing crunch.
SA国际影视传媒淥ur entire team was talking about that this morning,SA国际影视传媒� Woodhouse Nepinak said.
Acting Ontario regional Chief Abram Benedict noted the divestiture of federal properties includes a priority list that determines who gets first right of refusal, but First Nations are third on the list after provinces and municipalities SA国际影视传媒� something he called SA国际影视传媒渦nacceptable.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淲hen itSA国际影视传媒檚 our treaty partners, and those are traditional territories that are within all of our lands across Turtle Island, we need to have first priority so that our homes, our communities, can continue to prosper,SA国际影视传媒� said Benedict.
The government has SA国际影视传媒渘o desireSA国际影视传媒� to move away from its constitutional obligation to consult with Indigenous Peoples who may be affected by decisions, said Housing Minister Sean Fraser.
Land and territorial rights are frequently a contentious issue between both parties, Fraser acknowledged.
SA国际影视传媒淭here are unique opportunities to leverage federal lands that may not engage in Indigenous rights, but we still have to do appropriate consultations,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
Woodhouse Nepinak said sheSA国际影视传媒檚 also meeting with opposition parties to lay out the assemblySA国际影视传媒檚 top priorities in advance of the next federal election.
After her January meeting with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, she said she wanted to renew the AFNSA国际影视传媒檚 relationship with the party, which became tense under former prime minister Stephen Harper.
Poilievre has yet to attend one of the AFNSA国际影视传媒檚 national assemblies, where hundreds of First Nations chiefs meet to vote on resolutions and discuss priorities they want to take to the federal government.
Conservatives reached out to the AFN following TuesdaySA国际影视传媒檚 budget release, Woodhouse Nepinak said. She wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 say whether the party has made any commitments about what it would do differently.
SA国际影视传媒擝y Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press
