Trudeau, and all of us, have right to be frustrated by chiefs’ tactics
There was very little about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to Saskatchewan last week that merits him getting the benefit of the doubt.
But it’s largely partisan nonsense that Trudeau behaved badly in that secretly recorded clip in which he demonstrated his frustrations with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN).
If anything, it underscores the legitimate exasperation politicians of all stripes at all levels have felt after having to deal with tactics and grandstanding of
First Nations politicians.
If we are ever to move forward, this must change.
The first reason why the FSIN doesn’t deserve much sympathy is that they actually did get a rather substantive time allotment from the prime minister of Canada.
It was really up to them and Chief Bobby Cameron to use that time wisely, but there seemed little interest in doing so.
“The original plan was eight people around the table or so, representing all the different regions, bringing forward concerns … and the first section took 45 minutes, and every single person spoke around the table,” Trudeau said in the clip posted on Youtube on Sunday under the title “PMJT berates FSIN Chief.”
“That’s not fair. That’s not fair. That’s not the way … 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 ... that is not the spirit of reconciliation, of the nation-to-nation relationship we’re supposed to have.”
This was not exactly the illtempered “berating” that either the Conservatives or whoever posted the video suggest.
And given the rather conciliatory statement Sunday evening by the Prime Minister’s Office — “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get through all the issues that were put forward, but we look forward to subsequent meetings” — it’s not even Trudeau who comes off looking bad.
Frankly, most of us would be far more ticked off.
Conservatives may be eager to portray this as an arrogant failing of Trudeau, but can you imagine former prime minister Stephen Harper’s reaction to a similar surreptitious taping of one his meetings?
Can you even imagine Harper sitting down with the chiefs in this way, or meeting with anyone other than party donors or friendly farmers at such a Saskatchewan stop?
Maybe one can be critical for Trudeau’s sunny ways approach that allowed this nonsense scenario to develop in the first place. And maybe we do owe the author of the surreptitious recording a bit of thanks because the only thing that we would otherwise have seen come out of this is the usual happy photo-op.
But there is a bottom line here: The FSIN chiefs are elected politicians. Wasting time by allowing every member at the table to grandstand wasn’t about finding solutions. Trying to embarrass the prime minister by releasing this tape wasn’t about finding answers for your constituents, either.
This does not mean First Nations concerns should be given short shrift, as Premier Scott Moe’s government was accused of doing with the teepee protesters.
We do need to meet. We do need to talk.
This is especially so when the First Nations concerns are coming from the grassroots and the level of government is closer to some of those local, grassroots concerns than the PM would be.
But let us not be naive about the political games the chiefs chose to play in this meeting with Trudeau. After all, it’s not the first time we’ve seen it.
Trudeau’s frustrations were exactly what politicians and bureaucrats often privately say after meeting with First Nations politicians who choose to use such settings to either repeat known old grievances or seek out new confrontations because they believe it plays better with their own electorate.
By all evidence, including the recording, Trudeau did patiently listen.
And then he bluntly told First Nations politicians exactly what they needed to hear: that this wasn’t productive.
As Trudeau suggests, this wasn’t in the spirit of reconciliation.