PREMIERS MEETING
Trio of Indigenous groups refuse to meet
TORONTO The leaders of three Indigenous groups that have backed out of a meeting with Canada’s premiers say they are holding out for a seat at the Council of the Federation rather than a talk on the sidelines.
Hours before a meeting between premiers and aboriginal leaders was set to take place Monday, the heads of the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Metis National Council said they were seeking “full and meaningful inclusion” in the larger annual gathering of provincial and territorial leaders.
Perry Bellegarde, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said in a Toronto news conference that Canada’s Indigenous Peoples are not just another special interest group and won’t stand to be treated as such.
“We’re not ethnic minorities. We are Indigenous Peoples with the right to self-determination, because we have our own lands, we have our own laws, we have our own languages, we have our own identifiable peoples and we have our identifiable forms of government,” he said.
Though the groups have met with the premiers in the past, they said long-standing issues have come to a head in the last year, particularly when contrasted with the federal government’s more inclusive approach.
“Unless we start taking a stand, they’re not going to really listen to us,” said Clement Chartier, president of the Metis National Council.
“Hopefully this message will be heard loud and clear by them. Otherwise the Metis Nation will concentrate most of our efforts in dealing with the federal government.”
The premiers are meeting this week in Edmonton. They were to sit down with the remaining two aboriginal groups Monday and then discuss other issues on Tuesday and Wednesday, including trade with the United States and plans to implement Ottawa’s promise to legalize marijuana use in 2018.
In Edmonton, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said he doesn’t understand the purpose of a boycott. He noted the premiers are making progress on shared issues such as education and infrastructure funding.
“These meetings aren’t perfect and they don’t get the results that everybody wants immediately,” said Wall.
“But we’ve substantive progress because of this meeting with all of the national Indigenous organizations, so I’m very disappointed that they’re not coming.
“Some of the three that are not here wanted specifically to have aboriginal engagement on the issue today and they’ve chosen not to engage. I don’t understand it. I don’t think it’s the right call.”
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, the meeting’s host, said the boycott is an opportunity lost.
“It’s unfortunate that they weren’t able to come today. We were certainly looking forward to having conversations about the very issues that they raised today.”
Notley was asked whether Indigenous groups should be included as full and equal partners in the council.
“At this point, we’ve had great success with the relationship that we’ve had before,” she replied.
“We’re certainly willing to having ongoing discussions ... about the evolving relationships.”
The Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples did show up for talks Monday.