Tory leader inept at reading the room

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/07/2024 (427 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On the same morning federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre addressed the Assembly of First Nations for the first time, serial killer Jeremy Skibicki was found guilty of murdering four Indigenous women in a Winnipeg courthouse.

It was on the minds of most First Nations people everywhere, but Poilievre didn’t mention the trial, acknowledge victims or their families (some of whom were present), or bring up the issue of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls.

In the question-and-answer portion that followed, delegate Judy Wilson from Skat’sin te Secwepemc pointed this out, telling Poilievre, “You need to educate yourself on these issues.”

Awkward moment aside, Poilievre’s glaring oversight, or perhaps omission, of such an obvious, pressing, and present issue to First Nations was, in a word: weird.

Instead, Poilievre spent his allotted time talking about the failure of Canadian schools to teach about First Nations contributions to Canada, how “government gatekeepers” need to be removed to allow for the development of First Nations land and resources, and First Nation leaders have “trillions of dollars” in untapped potential wealth that could pay for issues of housing, crime, and policing in their communities.

“Your children can be the richest in the world,” Poilievre announced, to a smattering of applause by some chiefs in attendance.

Poilievre also received applause when he vowed to let First Nations charge the federal government for development projects on their land and condemned Canadian corporations for importing workers to communities instead of hiring locally.

Meanwhile – and progressively throughout his speech – several chiefs, veterans, and two-spirit leaders rose to turn their backs to the Conservative leader in silent protest to Poilievre’s past offensive comments on residential school survivors, support of anti-LGBTTQ+ parental rights, and controversial views on climate change.

The somewhat uneven presentation ended precisely after 30 minutes.

The moment was a perfect display why federal Conservative leaders don’t often meet publicly with chiefs, especially at the AFN.

Canada’s last Conservative prime minister, Stephen Harper, for example, only met with chiefs when he hand-picked groups to begin land and resource development negotiations or announced plans to download or divert investments in communities.

When chiefs sought to do something else, Harper instituted draconian legislation such as the First Nations Financial Transparency Act to control spending to the penny.

In other words, Conservative governments tend to not care much about what First Nations want (or even need); just what First Nations can do for Canadians.

This is, simply, an inefficient, expensive, and wasteful strategy that First Nations reject, particularly in recent years.

Proof is in the Idle No More movement that rose up against Harper’s government, the largest civil disobedience action coalition invested in changing Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples in history.

Poilievre — who (if polling is right) may be the next prime minister — might want to take note what happens when a Conservative prime minister enforces a dictatorial, one-way, hierarchical, profit- and Canadian-centred approach.

If Poilievre’s first visit to the AFN is a sign of things to come, there’s a lot of dysfunction ahead.

For a lesson on how to work somewhat better with First Nations, Poilievre may want to look to who followed him on the AFN agenda: NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

Singh’s speech to chiefs focused on how Justin Trudeau’s government has not evoked changes for First Nations and after nine years, problems are “worse.”

Singh blamed “the lack of adequate funding,” how “First Nations are the hardest hit by Canada’s climate crisis” and that “Indigenous women and girls are getting murdered six times higher than the national rate.”

To much applause, he blamed “colonialism” and “genocide.”

He also pointed out Trudeau’s failure to end boil-water advisories on First Nations, his lack of investment in shelters for Indigenous women, and his failure to support an NDP motion to consult with First Nations on the Early Learning and Child Care Act.

The problem is Singh’s NDP has been an instrumental part of the government for two years. Any finger he points at the Trudeau Liberals comes with three pointed right back.

Chiefs were quick to point this out during his Q-and-A portion.

A series of chiefs told Singh that First Nation education agreements are failing, Indigenous languages are disappearing, infrastructure in communities isn’t equitable, and leaders like him are not advocating enough to support health and housing on First Nations.

While some asked him what an “NDP government would do,” most asked him to “advocate” on the issues they presented. Some pleaded.

The whole time Singh listened to all questions, good and bad, and ended up staying for almost an hour.

As he came off stage he was mobbed, with many chiefs shaking his hand, joking, and taking selfies.

It was a tale of two leaders, with two very different approaches.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca