OTTAWA — The federal minister of Indigenous services says she and the other Indigenous members of cabinet support their party’s plan to fast-track infrastructure development — despite significant pushback from First Nations leaders.
Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty says Prime Minister Mark Carney has “reaffirmed” First Nations will be included in discussions about projects the federal government could fast-track under pending legislation, and that their input is “critical” to allowing those projects to move forward.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Woodhouse Nepinak sent a letter to Carney on Friday about legislation the federal government is developing to speed up work on certain projects with a streamlined regulatory approval process.
In it, she said she fears the proposed legislation could violate the rights of First Nations people and undermine the treaties they signed with the Crown.
Gull-Masty says she’s “supportive” of Woodhouse Nepinak and that she’s “pushing that conversation forward in a critical way.”
Liberal MP Jaime Battiste, a member of his party’s Indigenous caucus, says his understanding is that all projects being examined now already have “buy-in” from Indigenous communities and will be the ones that are prioritized.
