First Nations relations with Ottawa tested over ‘economic shutdown … – CBC.ca
May 16, 2014
Bernard Valcourt says he won’t meet with ‘rogue chiefs’ until threat withdrawn
An already strained relationship between First Nations and the federal government was tested further on Thursday after a group of chiefs threatened to shut down the Canadian economy if Ottawa did not withdraw Bill C-33, the First Nations education act.
An internal statement drafted by the Confederacy of Nations, dated May 14 and obtained by CBC News today, said “should Canada not withdraw and cease all imposed legislation on First Nations without our free, prior and informed consent, we will strategically and calculatedly begin the economic shutdown of Canada’s economy from coast to coast.”
The clash between the two sides came less than two week after Shawn Atleo resigned as national chief for the Assembly of First Nations.
The Confederacy of Nations, a governing body within the Assembly of First Nations, met in Ottawa on Wednesday and again today to discuss the government’s controversial First Nations education bill.
Grand Chief Derek Nepinak from the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said the statement was not intended to be made public, nor was it intended to constitute a threat.
“This statement has been taken a little bit out of context,” Nepinak said on Thursday afternoon.
