Statement on First Nations-First Ministers’ Meeting

UNCEDED ALGONQUIN TERRITORY, OTTAWA: Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler has issued the following statement as NAN First Nations leaders prepare to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney and provincial and territorial premiers at Monday’s First Nations–First Ministers’ Meeting:

“Monday’s meeting with Prime Minister Carney and provincial and territorial premiers comes at a critical moment for First Nations.

The federal Building Canada Act and Ontario’s Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act were passed without meaningful involvement of the First Nations whose lands and rights may be affected. Governments cannot decide what is in the national interest and consult First Nations afterward.

Each NAN First Nation must be free to determine its own path. Some support development, others oppose particular projects. One Nation’s support cannot diminish another’s rights. NAN is not opposed to development, but projects must respect our Treaties, jurisdiction and decisions, and deliver lasting benefits to our communities.

First Nations rights are not red tape. We are Treaty partners, not programs managed by Indigenous affairs departments. Every ministry making decisions that affect our Nations shares responsibility for respecting our rights.

This meeting must produce more than promises. We need an ongoing First Nations–First Ministers process, direct engagement with decision-making ministers and clear accountability. National organizations cannot replace direct relationships with individual First Nations.

True nation-building means respecting our Treaties while ensuring our communities have clean drinking water, housing, reliable energy, health services and safe schools. This meeting must be the start of that work.”

NAN has worked with the Chiefs of Ontario and the Assembly of First Nations to ensure that the priorities of our communities are reflected in the final agenda and discussions at this historic event. The consent-based partnership model that our Chiefs have mandated must be a priority outcome of this meeting. Anything less is not reconciliation; it is imposition.

For more information please contact:
Michael Heintzman,
Director of Communications
Cell: (807) 621-2790
mheintzman@nan.ca