The big tent looming over Indigenous rights

A few weeks ago, we used this space to reflect on the importance of solidarity between First Nations, especially when it comes to going up against governments that still don’t show respect when it counts, and that’s not set to change anytime soon.

Sure, the cogs of government get replaced, and the motor whirs in different tones - and don’t get us wrong, that matters, to an extent - but it’s still the same machine. That’s the situation lately with some pretty high-profile changes in government that don’t amount too much, except for renewing concerns about accountability and respect.

After all, it’s the same parties in charge: the Carney Liberals are still ruling Canada, just more so. And the CAQ in Quebec traded in Legault, who was almost definitely going to lose the provincial election in October, for new premier Christine Fréchette, who will only probably lose.

Although it was byelection victories that put the Liberals over the finish line in their quest to form a majority government, five floor crossings (when an MP elected under one party jumps ship to another) are what made it possible. This week the party was still busy solidifying its newfound power, working to take over committees.

Four of the five MPs to cross the floor to the Liberals were Conservatives, the latest of whom, Marilyn Gladu, has taken far-right positions that are supposedly the opposite of what the Liberals claim to represent, including on LGBTQ2S+ rights and the right to choose.

Sure, the Liberals are the “big tent” party, but at what point does it become so stretched that it lets the rain in?

Or is that who the Liberals are? You can usually count on them for lip service at least, but Gladu is even failing on that front, currently trying to get the Anishinaabemowin word Bkejwanong, which refers to the Walpole Island First Nation, removed from the name of her riding, according to the Sarnia Journal.

Since prime minister Mark Carney grabbed the reins, it has been even harder than usual to discern what his party’s values are, besides economic expediency and the power that makes this possible.

Accepting anyone and everyone with open arms is a nice touch when Big Bird is involved, but in the House of Commons it means leaving your principles at the door, if you have any.

How can you take a stand when your party holds conflicting values about some of the most important issues? The obvious answer, of course, is by whipping your members in line.

It does reflect what we know of the mentality of the current government, which is to move ahead full steam, even if it means trampling someone else’s lawn.

Now with a majority in the House, the Carney government will have even more latitude to build out its vision of Canada at breakneck speed, which inevitably means taking Indigenous objections and throwing them straight into the garbage bin, even if the Liberals vow benefits for First Nations.

Who decides what’s a fair benefit on Native land?

This week, Amnesty International Canada put out a press release demanding that Carney’s government “Build Canada Just,” not just “Strong.” They go on to describe violations of Indigenous rights in 2025, particularly the right to “free, prior, and informed consent over building projects that affect their territories,” which is incompatible with a “just build” mentality.

That’s no news to us or Kahnawake. We see it time and time again, where Kahnawake has to fight just to have its voice heard. Consultations have long been like a box to check at the end of a list. Now it’s like that checkbox was on the mostly empty last page of a document that you don’t even bother to print out.

This is not nation-to-nation relations.

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Cindy Woodhouse, told APTN that there are no more excuses for the Liberals under a majority government. It’s time for them to show their promises to First Nations are more than just words.

Meanwhile, while the majority status likely means a federal election is a long ways off, Quebec will be heading to the polls this year, and as it stands it looks like there’s pretty much no outcome that will do much good for Kahnawake.

But at least Legault, who was no friend to First Nations, is out. We can officially say the man went his whole tenure without acknowledging the existence of systemic racism, even after Joyce Echaquan.

To our knowledge, Fréchette hasn’t used her new platform to say it, either. There are a lot of important files with the province right now, but if we had her on the phone right now, our first question would be whether she acknowledges systemic racism’s existence. Some might argue that’s just semantics, but if you can’t even acknowledge that, what good are you as a partner to First Nations?

When it comes to Canada - of which Quebec remains a part, at least for now - Kahnawake and other First Nations have leverage, because the consultations Canada wants to sidestep are a constitutional right, and a right under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and many of the projects Canada wants to move forward are on First Nations territories and require First Nations cooperation.

So maybe not much has changed as the Liberals shift gears to a majority, but there is no passing the buck, and the responsibility falls squarely on this government to show it takes its obligations to First Nations seriously.

That could mean compensating Kahnawake for the Seaway that generates so many billions of dollars, it could mean face-to-face meetings, or a million other things, any one of which would just be a start.

There’s a long way to go, but no government can get what it wants for too long before the winds of opposition blow against them, even majorities. Carney needs the partnership of First Nations, and the sooner he sees that, the better.

Marcus Bankuti, Managing Editor

Steve Bonspiel, Editor/Publisher