Deal justly, fairly with First Nations

Justin Trudeau promised a new era of nation-to-nation negotiations with First Nations. His mandate letters to each new cabinet minister stressed this point. Given that, it’s hard to reconcile his approvals of the Site C dam, the Kinder Morgan expansion and the Petronas project on Lelu Island, all opposed by First Nations. This is especially concerning since all these issues are before the courts. There comes a time when a politician just has to do the right thing.

Canada’s wealth has been garnered on the backs of our indigenous peoples whose resources were taken and continue to be taken without compensation. I call this the new colonialism, which is in fact the same old colonialism delivered with sunny ways. It’s long past time to deal justly and fairly with First Nations.