If Pierre Poilievre wants to become the prime minister, then he still needs to educate himself about First Nation Peoples, says a former Chief.
The rebuke by Judy Wilson, a former Kukpi7 (Chief) from unceded Secwepemcul’ecw territory, of Poilievre’s first in-person speech to the Assembly of First Nations was par for the course as he pitched his firebrand “common-sense” conservatism.
“This is my first meeting in person, but I hope it is the first of many,” Poilievre said to a room of over 300 First Nation leaders, positioning himself as prime minister-in-waiting.
The speech did not veer from Poilievres’s slogan-ready promises to axe the tax, build homes, stop crime, and fix the budget, but instead reframed them with a First Nation lens — addressing the Chiefs of Ontario’s judicial review of carbon pricing, First Nation policing, and the housing crisis on First Nations.
Poilievre also appealed to conservatism’s first principles, which he argues are shared with First Nations: the values of faith and spirituality, family, tradition, entrepreneurship and land.
“It may surprise some of you to learn that the values and institutions of your precolonial history… are shared by Conservatives,” he said.
Much of the speech centred on Poilievre’s vision for small government: removing barriers to development in the form of what he calls “gatekeepers,” and placing economic reconciliation at the forefront of his Indigenous policy.
Giving a specific example, Poilievre spoke to his flagship policy that would give First Nations the ability to tax industries operating on their traditional territory. The program would be optional, and companies would be granted a 50 per cent refundable tax credit to make it economically viable for industry.
Following Poilievre’s address, Wilson slammed Poilievre for not acknowledging Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, the United Nations on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and inherent title rights for nations on unceded territory without treaties. Wilson also rebuked the opposition leader for failing to speak about the climate crisis.
“How can we dismiss the climate crisis? We have heat domes people are dying from, we have wildfires you have to address the climate crisis,” she added.
Wilson also derided Poilievre for failing to acknowledge residential school survivors, whose experiences led to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Gabriel Maracle, a political science professor at Carleton University and an enrolled member of Tyendinaga, believes Poilievre will continue to use the language of reconciliation in some capacity.
For example, Poilievre noted that “social support requires economic reconciliation.”
That made sense in Maracle’s understanding of the Conservative Party’s approach to reconciliation.
“From a conservative government’s perspective, ensuring economic development is foundational to protecting and supporting Indigenous people’s rights,” Maracle wrote in an email.
Maracle does not think the legislation enshrining the United Nations declaration in federal law will be repealed, but he does see a scenario in which implementation could be dragged out and insufficient.
“All inherent rights are framed by the Conservative Party as existing under the auspices of the Constitution, rather than rights that have existed on these lands before Canada was even a country,” Maracle said about recent conservative policy rhetoric, including those found in the Conservative party’s policy declaration document.
For example, Indigenous Peoples are described as “Indigenous Canadians” in the policy document, which frames Indigenous Peoples as a subset of a larger Canadian state.
The language directly contradicts the United Nations declaration, which raises the question of what free, prior, and informed consent will look like when nations oppose, rather than support, resource development.
“I believe in Section 35 consultation rights,” Poilievre said in his speech, specifying that he sees consultation as a right that cuts two ways. “I believe those rights require our government consult with people who want those projects to go ahead, as well as those that don’t want them to go ahead.”
—By Matteo Cimellaro, Local Journalism Initiative reporter, Canada’s National Observer