Manitoba premier calls on federal government to finally scrap the colonial Indian Act during first ministers meeting
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Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew pressed Prime Minister Mark Carney to abolish the deeply outdated Indian Act, arguing that real reform must be led with First Nations governments and that Canada cannot credibly speak about human rights while keeping colonial barriers in place.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew used a meeting of Canada’s first ministers and First Nations leaders in Ottawa to demand that Prime Minister Mark Carney repeal the Indian Act. Holding up his own status card, Kinew said the law’s race-based identification is a relic that does not reflect Canada’s current vision.
He told Carney that it is "long overdue" for Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples to change and that any meaningful reform must involve First Nations governments themselves. First enacted in 1876, the Indian Act has controlled many aspects of First Nations life for more than a century and still functions as the central legal framework despite repeated amendments.
The gathering, the first of its kind since the 2005 Kelowna Accord talks, brought together the prime minister, most provincial premiers and chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations. Assembly national chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said the discussion is meant to build prosperity for future generations rather than preserve the status quo.
Kinew noted that eliminating the Act would not affect existing treaties or constitutional rights, adding that self-determination and strong Indigenous nationhood can exist without the paternalistic elements built into the legislation.
"You can have self-determination, and you can have strong Indigenous nationhood, while at the same time not having the paternalism and the barriers that come with the Indian Act," Kinew said.
The premier also voiced support for Canada’s international human-rights agenda, while warning that keeping the Indian Act in force stands in direct contradiction to that message.