Land claims must be settled before major development takes place in the NWT, northerners said at a rare meeting of Indigenous leaders, premiers and the prime minister in Ottawa.
The First Ministers and First Nations summit hosted by the federal government on Monday was the first in 20 years, according to Ottawa. Dene National Chief George Mackenzie said it was long overdue.
The Assembly of First Nations’ regional chiefs – of which Mackenzie is one – should get the same exposure and same opportunity as the premiers, Mackenzie told Cabin Radio at the summit. If Mackenzie had his way, these meetings would happen twice a year.
The meeting format did not provide enough time for northern leaders to raise their ideas and concerns, he added. It involved three-minute time limits on speaking that were criticized by many First Nations and the AFN.
Leaders from the NWT at Monday’s meeting included Grand Chief Herb Norwegian, Sahtu Grand Chief Wilbert Kochon, Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty and the four Tłı̨chǫ community chiefs, according to the territorial government.
To Norwegian, unsettled land claims are one of the biggest issues.
“We’re having a lot of problems with negotiations,” Norwegian said, referring to the ongoing Dehcho Process that began in the late 1990s.
Norwegian is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to give Crown-Indigenous relations minister Rebecca Alty the “clear direction” and tools needed to negotiate and complete the Dehcho land and governance agreement.
“You need to resolve the land and governance issue before you can start talking about opening up that part of the country,” he said. Norwegian described the mood in the room as “very respectful” and “cordial.”
At a press conference on Monday afternoon, Carney described one of the meeting’s main focuses as economic reconciliation and identifying new opportunities for First Nations to develop, operate, and share in the benefits of major infrastructure projects.
“We’re not against major development,” Mackenzie emphasized. “But we also know the Northwest Territories is the last frontier of the wilderness. Once major development comes – two major highways and a hydro dam – it most likely will never be the same.”
Because of this, Mackenzie said, there must be a mechanism in place where the federal government has to listen to Indigenous governments and ensure they are at the table from the beginning till the end of all projects.
He wants the federal government to put up more resources for chiefs to meet and develop ideas to present to Ottawa.
The federal government is “throwing billions of dollars” at major projects and should do the same with First Nations programs and services, Mackenzie emphasized.
“We have a drug crisis in every one of our communities and if we don’t address the drug problem, and another major development is coming, our young people will not be ready,” he said.
Mackenzie said he was also going to communicate the importance of settling land claims during his three-minute speech.
Tłı̨chǫ Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty stressed that as a modern treaty government, the Tłı̨chǫ Government does not only engage with the federal and territorial governments, but also co-develops legislation in the Northwest Territories like the Wildlife Act.
“It’s all about collaboration, working together, and building positive working relations at the federal level and all the Indigenous governments from across Canada,” Lafferty said at a morning press conference with the Land Claims Agreements Coalition.
Premier RJ Simpson also attended the meeting.
“I’ve never been to a meeting like this before,” Simpson told Cabin Radio.
“It’s a very stark contrast between what happens in southern Canada and what we do in the Northwest Territories.
“Things like co-development of legislation, resource sharing, having bilateral meetings with Indigenous governments and all of cabinet, these are things that just don’t happen in the rest of Canada.”
There are still many concerns shared by First Nations both south and north of 60, such as the toxic drug crisis and lack of community infrastructure, he added.
‘Abolish the Indian Act’
Some premiers had committed to holding these meetings once a year, Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson said during a press conference on Monday.
Bill S-2, which would eliminate the second-generation cut-off, was a prominent topic at the summit. The federal government will soon have a response on Bill S-2, Carney said at the Monday press conference.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew made headlines at the meeting on Monday when he called for the federal government to abolish the Indian Act.
“I’m committed to a process that moves Canada beyond the Indian Act,” Carney said when asked about Kinew’s statement.
“I’ve asked my ministers to work in partnership with First Nations to chart that path together.
“I’m very open to that. I’m not using clever words around it. It could be moving beyond. It could be reforming. It could be abolishing.”
The prime minister said fully modernizing the governance relationship is the “desirable end state.”
