First Nations councillor defends leaking video
Says aim was to improve talks with Trudeau
A First Nations councillor says she filmed and uploaded a video of an upset Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meeting First Nations leaders in Saskatoon because she thought he was “truly not listening.”
The leaked video — with an annoyed Trudeau telling First Nations chiefs he was upset with their time management — has already overshadowed the substance of the meeting, according to one professor.
The prime minister has made addressing the problems of Indigenous people one of his primary policies.
The almost four-minute video surfaced online Sunday, four days after the prime minister — who was in Saskatoon for the Liberal Party of Canada’s caucus retreat — had an 8 a.m. closed-door meeting with Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations chiefs.
A government official said eight First Nations leaders were expected but more than that attended the meeting. In an interview with Maclean’s on Monday, the prime minister said “50 to 60” leaders showed up, which he found frustrating.
In the video clip published online, Trudeau appeared to express frustration about “time management,” saying the first portion of the hourlong meeting went longer than expected, leaving little time for the concerns of others who attended the meeting expecting an opportunity to address him.
“I’m really, really upset with this. It wasn’t for me to interrupt previous speakers, but (FSIN Chief ) Bobby (Cameron), there shouldn’t have been every single person speaking for eight minutes,” Trudeau can be heard saying in the video.
“Ultimately, this was a time management issue that caused some chiefs to not have time to speak,” Cameron said Monday in a statement, which went on to note that “in the future, time will be set aside for those First Nations who didn’t receive the opportunity” to address Trudeau.
Sheila Kay-Machiskinic, a first-term councillor from the Kawacatoose First Nation near Punnichy southeast of Saskatoon, said Tuesday in an interview that she filmed the video.
“It’s done so that we could feel like, ‘Okay, this is how it went the first time. The second time perhaps maybe it will be better,’ ” she said.
“Perhaps it’s an eye-opener for the general public, too, for them to see how we really are treated in Saskatchewan.
“I just think we are in it together to make it better, and that goal, that way of thinking, has to be our way of thinking from now on.”
Kay-Machiskinic said she attended the meeting at the request of her First Nation’s chief, who could not be there, and that she was among those who did not have an opportunity to address the prime minister. She said no one told her recording was prohibited.
“The onus is on the prime minister and his PR people to give us the time to be listened to,” she said, adding that the Prime Minister’s Office should apologize and that Cameron showed goodwill by not arguing and allowing the chiefs to speak.
Kay-Machiskinic said she wasn’t among those who discount Trudeau because of a dislike for his father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and acknowledged that his government inherited a relationship with “very angry” First Nations people three years ago.
Asked what she would have said to the prime minister, she replied, “What more can you do for our children’s programs? I’ve always been a strong advocate for child care, getting our children out of care.
“We have more children in care and those legislations and those processes are not the best,” she said, emphasizing that Ottawa and the FSIN need to work together with the provincial government on these issues.
At least one expert believes the leaked footage will damage relations between the 74-member FSIN and the federal government, and perhaps make it more difficult for Saskatchewan First Nations to get meetings with the prime minister.
University of Saskatchewan political science professor Greg Poelzer said the furor surrounding the leak overshadowed the meeting about the real concerns facing First Nations across the province.
At least over the shortterm, Poelzer said, it’s a “nowin situation.”
Both Cameron and the government have suggested the tension evident in the leaked clip does not reflect the entirety of the meeting.
While some have criticized Trudeau for his attitude toward First Nations chiefs, Assembly of First Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde told The Canadian Press he was not “overly concerned” because chairing meetings with the prime minister can be difficult.