Native leaders claim Trudeau has failed to act on promises

OTTAWA — Under fire from his political opponents for not doing enough for the welfare of aboriginal children, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was indignant in reply.

“The fact of the matter is that no government has done more to repair the relationship with indigenous Canadians than this one, with $8.4 billion over the next five years in building infrastructure, supporting young people, and supporting indigenous communities,” Trudeau told the House of Commons Tuesday.

And yet, a growing number of indigenous leaders are coming to the conclusion that such lofty rhetoric is sounding increasingly hollow, that it does not match the record of the Trudeau government’s first year in office.

“Absolutely,” said Kevin Hart, the Manitoba regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations. “(Indigenous) leadership across this country are coming to terms with that. There was a lot of great talk in the last year.”

It is not just indigenous leaders. In October, the Manitoba legislature unanimously passed a resolution “condemn(ing) the federal government’s inaction in equitably funding social services for First Nations people.”

The federal government, though, is not shy to push back on its critics.

On Tuesday, Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett issued a statement repeating a promise that nearly 6,000 homes on reserves will be built, renovated or retrofitted in the current fiscal year, which ends March 31. She said her department had allocated $268 million for 956 projects.

That statement came on the heels of a report, also Tuesday, from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) that is expected to form the basis of the federal government’s national housing strategy. Among other things, the report recommended the creation of a national indigenous housing strategy.