Arrests show need to engage with Indigenous Peoples: PM
Arrests at a blockade this week show the government needs to properly engage with Indigenous Peoples and build a different relationship than it has had the past, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday.
Trudeau said he was pleased to see tensions had eased between police and First Nations outside a construction zone for a natural gas pipeline in northern British Columbia.
“I know that there will be questions asked and required to answer over the coming weeks about what exactly was done, what could have been done differently,” he said at Thompson Rivers University’s industrial training and technology centre.
It’s time to figure out how to make sure there is proper engagement with more respect when projects are built, something governments haven’t done in the past, Trudeau said.
“I think we can all agree that is the way we need to move forward as a country, in a more respectful, more thoughtful, more engaged way. There are going to be moments when that doesn’t work out as well as it should and we’ll need to learn from those moments.
“But there is no question that the goodwill that is shared by all Canadians who want to see better respect and partnership with Indigenous Peoples, while at the same time we make sure we are continuing to grow the economy.”
The RCMP and hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en
First Nation met in Smithers, B.C., on Thursday to work on details of an agreement reached a day earlier that would allow access to crews from Coastal Gaslink to work in the area that was behind the blockade.