First Nations leaders say Carney’s C-5 summit sparks more concerns, questions

Chiefs who attended the gathering came armed with concerns and questions about the government’s new law, which ushers in a new process for approving major infrastructure projects from ports to pipelines.

GATINEAU, Que. — Prime Minister Mark Carney entered a high-stakes meeting with First Nations leaders Thursday, touting his government’s new law to fast-track major infrastructure projects as having “Indigenous economic growth” at its heart, saying he believes consensus can be reached on how to move forward.

Woodhouse said the over 600 First Nations from across the country have a diversity of opinion on the legislation and the summit should have occurred prior to the bill’s passing.

She said she wants Carney to come to the table with meaningful amendments to Bill C-5 and solutions to the “$350-billion gap in infrastructure for First Nations kids in this country.”

At the AFN news conference, Joanna Bernard from Madawaska Maliseet First Nation, AFN regional chief for New Brunswick, said Carney’s summit isn’t really consultation.

“They’re coming in, they’re putting up the agenda, they’re deciding how this is going to proceed, but definitely it is not consultation. If it was we wouldn’t be here, we would be running the agenda, and this is not the case today,” said Bernard.

Whether Carney’s pitch lands with the more than 200 chiefs and other First Nations leaders who attended the gathering remains to be seen, given the vocal pushback the law, known as Bill C-5, has received over concerns about its impact on First Nations’ territories and the legal obligation the government has to consult communities.

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Protester Keisha Paulmartin of Okiniwak Youth Led Movement is overcome with emotion as she speaks to reporters during a protest on the property of the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., on Thursday

“I don’t think … that a lot of people are happy right now in terms of the way that the government has gone about ramming through legislation without respecting the current … protections within the environment, the current protections on our water,” said Southern Chiefs’ Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels.

Chiefs who attended the gathering came armed with concerns and questions about the government’s new law, which ushers in a new process for approving major infrastructure projects from ports to pipelines. It aims to bring down the federal approval process necessary for projects to receive the green light to two years, down from the current five.

Introducing and passing what Carney coined as his “One Canadian Economy” bill fulfilled a campaign promise he made during the spring federal election, where he pledged to remove all federal internal trade barriers by Canada Day and get more large infrastructure projects off the ground to bolster Canada’s economy against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.