AFN chief pushes back on narrow claims about who raised abolishing the Indian Act
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Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said chiefs were largely focused on long-delayed legislation tied to major projects, challenging reports that only Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Prime Minister Mark Carney discussed abolishing the Indian Act.
The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations said that the discussion about abolishing the Indian Act at a recent meeting was not confined to Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Prime Minister Mark Carney, despite some reports trying to reduce it to that narrow frame. Woodhouse Nepinak told reporters that chiefs were primarily focused on legislation affecting major projects and that those urgent concerns were pushed aside when Kinew and Carney made remarks about the Act.
"Not everybody, but other participants raised the desirability. So it's already starting from the right place in that it's not the federal government deciding something should be done. It's responding to a request," Carney said after the meeting.
The Indigenous Services Minister’s office said Kinew was not the only participant to raise the possibility of reforming or removing the Indian Act, but declined to provide details because the meeting was held behind closed doors.
While First Nations leaders broadly agree that the Indian Act, enacted in 1876, is outdated and restrictive, there is no consensus on whether it should be repealed or how it might be replaced. The federal government has not committed to changing the rules that determine Indian status, and previous attempts to reform the legislation have failed to deliver meaningful change.
The discussion takes place as the government seeks to speed up major project development in partnership with provinces and Indigenous communities. Recent legislative changes that would have allowed the government to bypass the Indian Act were withdrawn after opposition from other parties.