Liberals lose steam on reconciliation

Indigenous leaders worry a Poilievre government could be worse

- JOY SPEARCHIEF-MORRIS

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, left, and president of the Métis National Council Cassidy Caron after his remarks at the Indigenous History Month reception in Ottawa on Monday. Caron said there has been more progress in the past nine years "than we ever have in our history for the Métis nation."

OTTAWA Nine years after Justin Trudeau came to power campaigning on a new relationship with Indigenous people, Indigenous leaders say his government’s once considerable rate of progress is slowing — and they are worried about that momentum reversing if the Conservatives topple the Liberals in the next election.

As they mark National Indigenous Peoples Day, leaders of three national organizations say the reconciliation agenda from Trudeau’s 2015 platform has led to greater advancements on Indigenous priorities than previous governments.

Most importantly, they feel greater recognition of their self-government authority and believe there are stronger ties with Ottawa. But Indigenous leaders are also concerned about “going backwards,” losing those relationships should a Conservative government take power in the next year, and are currently taking steps to make sure they don’t lose their seat at the table.

“Hopefully, with all the changes in this country over the last 15 years or so, it’s not possible to be a governing party in this country and still hold those same beliefs or treat First Nations, Inuit and Métis rights holders and rights-holding institutions in the way that the previous government did,” said Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) president Natan Obed. “But you never really can tell.”

How the Trudeau government has pursued reconciliation