AFN national chief says fast-tracked projects bill should come with plan for infrastructure for reserves
Woodhouse Nepinak acknowledged the agenda was still evolving and some feel the upcoming meeting is 'rushed,' but offered credit to Carney for agreeing with her ask to meet with chiefs, saying such a gathering ought to happen more often, given the last time she said one was staged was around 2012.
The national chief said she has heard a diversity of views about the Liberals' plan to fast-track major infrastructure projects. While some chiefs have expressed concerns, she said others have expressed support. There have also been chiefs so consumed with dealing with other issues in their communities they do not yet have a position.
'We're going to give (Carney) the benefit of the doubt that he produces tomorrow,' Woodhouse Nepinak said.
'I think that he has to also listen to First Nations leadership, more listening, rather than talking about how they want to proceed forward.'
The national chief and other First Nations leaders underlined how they saw Thursday's meeting as only the beginning of talks and should not be considered an act of consultation, something Carney confirmed at an unrelated news conference about tariffs in Hamilton, Ont.
He said the new law was ' enabling legislation' that allows discussions to take place about what constitutes a project to be 'nation building' and the process that would follow to ensure rights-holders like First Nations would be consulted and be able to participate.
Under the law, the federal cabinet would decide which projects would be added to a list that would allow the approvals process to be fast tracked through a yet-to-be-developed major-projects office. Carney has said the goal is to give selected projects the green light within two years, down from the current five.
'If this is a success, I think it's getting a solid commitment from the prime minister of discussions of how free, prior and informed consent will be implemented.'
He said the problem lies in the fact there could be projects pitched 'that are going to be very controversial.'
'It's those projects that I think the vast majority of chiefs are worried about.'
Teegee named as an example Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's desire to see a pipeline built from Alberta to B.C.'s northern coast, a route that has received widespread pushback from some First Nations in the area in the past.
'We've been down that road, and it's a very difficult situation.'
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
2 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Opinion: Turning the tide for southern resident killer whales
A new political era is unfolding in Canada, characterized by a push for expedited development approvals through the Building Canada Act under Bill C-5. This legislation empowers the federal cabinet to approve projects deemed to serve the national interest, overriding environmental reviews and the permitting procedure. While this may expedite new development, it poses an urgent question: Will safeguarding coastal ecosystems and endangered species like southern resident killer whales receive equal urgency? The whales are perilously close to extinction. At 73 individuals, their decline since being listed as endangered two decades ago is unfolding in plain sight of scientists, governments, First Nations and the public, despite mounting science on how to reverse it. A daily roundup of Opinion pieces from the Sun and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Informed Opinion will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. These whales aren't interchangeable with other killer whales. Southern residents are a distinct population that have been separated from other whales for hundreds of generations. They have rich cultural traditions, strong social bonds, share their prey and use calls not shared by any other killer whales. To lose them wouldn't only entail the loss of a genetically unique population, but also a lineage of culture and knowledge deeply intertwined with our coastal ecosystem. In 2018, the government of Canada declined to issue an emergency order under the Species at Risk Act, opting instead for a series of alternative conservation measures. Subsequently, annual protection measures were implemented, but many were limited in scope, voluntary or weakly enforced. In 2025, despite a federal assessment confirming the population wasn't recovering and remained at risk of imminent extinction, a second emergency order request was once again denied. In June, the Canadian government announced its 2025 protection measures for southern resident killer whales. Although well-intentioned, the measures largely mirror previous ones: fishing closures in designated areas, vessel-restricted zones, voluntary vessel slowdowns and a proposed increase in the minimum distance vessels must maintain from the whales. In March, we invited 31 scientists from Canada, the U.S., and Europe to Vancouver to address a critical question: What would it take to save this population? The result was a science-based set of 26 recommendations, some new, others improvements to existing actions. The list is solidly grounded in evidence and bolstered by expert consensus. The full workshop report, Strengthening recovery actions for Southern Resident killer whales, was released earlier this month and is publicly available at All the recommendations could be implemented now, without waiting for further research. The full workshop report is publicly available at All the recommendations could be implemented now, without waiting for further research. Consider chinook salmon. Southern residents depend on chinook that are large and high fat. While many salmon runs have declined, what is particularly problematic is that there has been a shift from runs once abundant with big, fatty chinook in the spring, to fall runs often comprising smaller, leaner individuals — a shift that has been exacerbated by hatcheries. We recommend maintaining fishery closures that prioritize the whales' access to their important salmon. One way to do this is to shift fishing effort to locations near or in rivers. This would give southern residents a better chance to feed before those salmon are targeted by fishermen. Reducing underwater noise is also urgent. Southern residents rely on echolocation to find their prey, and the vessel noise that currently saturates their habitat greatly reduces the rate at which they can find fish. The Port of Vancouver's ECHO program has undertaken substantial work to identify plausible noise reduction targets. Our panel of scientists recommended making those targets biologically relevant by accounting for the whales' need for quiet time, communication and foraging. Expanding the geographic and seasonal scope of ship slowdowns, adopting noise output standards for commercial vessels and requiring clear noise-reduction plans for future development projects are among the other steps needed. Contaminants, though less visible, remain a chronic threat. Southern residents remain among the Earth's most polluted marine mammals. We urged stronger source controls, green infrastructure to reduce urban run-off, accelerated phaseouts for banned chemicals and an overhaul of Canada's chemical review system to account for risks posed to long-lived species like killer whales and their prey. Southern resident killer whales have transcended their status as symbols of the Pacific Northwest, becoming ecological sentinels that serve as a warning about the health of our coast, our fisheries and our collective stewardship. Although recovery is still within reach, it will not be achieved by perpetuating the status quo. With the recent appointment of new federal government ministers in place, now is the time for them to demonstrate leadership by prioritizing the conservation of southern residents. The new government has a responsibility to act, and now it has the information needed to do so effectively. Lance Barrett-Lennard and Valeria Vergara are cetacean scientists with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. Misty MacDuffee is a salmon scientist with Raincoast. Paul Paquet is a senior scientist with Raincoast.
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Keep it up, nasty Canadians
When four Canada-friendly, non-MAGA U.S. senators came to Ottawa to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney this week, Oregon's Ron Wyden advised Canada to de-escalate trade tensions by quickly making permanent changes to tax laws the U.S. doesn't like. But elsewhere, Donald Trump's ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, said Canadians are 'mean and nasty' because they took U.S. liquor off store shelves and cancelled vacations south of the border. So which one do you think worries Mr. Trump more? It's not Canadian tax laws, or retaliatory tariffs – those are the things that the U.S. can push back on with threats of their own. It's the stuff Mr. Hoekstra, exhibiting a mind-boggling lack of self-awareness, calls 'nasty.' It is Canadian customers rejecting U.S. products. There are talks on now to reach some kind of trade deal with Mr. Trump's administration, with a supposed Aug. 1 deadline. But even if there is a deal, you can bet it won't be the end of trade disputes with Mr. Trump. The nasty things that Mr. Hoekstra complains about could be the best tool that Canada has. The U.S. President likes to brag that he's holding the cards, and there is truth to that, especially when it comes to government-to-government negotiations. The U.S. has the bigger market and an economy less dependent on trade. That's why Mr. Carney gave in last month and paused collection of Canada's digital services tax (DST) when Mr. Trump broke off trade talks, citing the levy. It's why Ontario Premier Doug Ford caved on his March threat to add a 25-per-cent surcharge to electricity, after Mr. Trump said he'd retaliate by raising steel tariffs to 50 per cent. (Mr. Trump later did that, anyway.) On Tuesday, Mr. Ford called for 'dollar-for-dollar' retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., but other premiers were not so gung-ho. Yet the premiers – and Mr. Carney – did encourage the consumer boycotts: 'Keep it up,' British Columbia Premier David Eby said. Good advice. And there is still zeal for it among Canadians. Tony Keller: Trump's trade policy is completely nonsensical, and entirely clear 'We're not getting as much coverage in the Canadian media, but I keep my eyes on what the U.S. press is saying, and they are starting to really notice massive drops,' said former New Democratic MP Charlie Angus, now a 'Resistance' ringleader who writes Substack essays and speaks at boycott rallies. U.S. alcohol sales have been hit. American exports of food to Canada amounted to US$28-billion in 2024, but Mr. Angus noted that some grocery stores pulled many U.S. products from their shelves. He argued that ordinary Canadians have more tools to pressure the U.S. than political leaders. Canadians expected Mark Carney to be a tough-talking, 'wartime' prime minister, Mr. Angus said, but 'we haven't seen that.' But he also said he realizes Mr. Carney is trying to navigate the complexities of 'dealing with a gangster regime' in Washington. 'This is where the power of the boycott is a unique political lever, because Mark Carney or Doug Ford or Daniel Smith can't tell people to stop the boycott,' Mr. Angus said. The senators who met Mr. Carney on Monday – three Democrats and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, a moderate swing vote in the U.S. Senate – declared their friendship and conceded that the boycott has had an impact. 'We are seeing a decrease in the travel from Canadians to Nevada,' Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto said. New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan even said, 'We miss you.' That's nice. The senators had suggestions on how to settle the issue, such as Canada permanently rescinding the DST. But they didn't seem to include living up to past U.S. trade commitments – or stopping aggressive U.S. attacks on Canada's economy. Mr. Trump, after all, has said he wants the U.S. to imposes tariffs on Canadian autos so that it becomes uneconomical to make them in this country. That's pretty nasty. It isn't easy for Canadian political leaders to counter that kind of strong-arming. But Canadian consumers can have an impact as long as they keep being nasty.
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Several Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizens want self-government jobs to be more accessible
Some Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizens say it's hard to access employment with the First Nations government. They say requirements have changed throughout the years, leaving many citizens unable to access certain positions. They say it's created a leadership structure that doesn't represent the community. The CBC's Virginie Ann has more.
