I was at the First Nations C-5 summit. Carney isn’t listening – The Narwhal

July 24, 2025

B.C. First Nations are key to major federal projects — but our voices were sidelined

The feedback from the First Nations leadership summit on the federal government’s push to build big projects — first introduced under Bill C-5 — has been almost universally negative. After attending last week’s gathering in Gatineau, Que., Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs provided a scathing, albeit representative, summary.

“The sole purpose of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s First Nations summit was to serve notice on Canada’s First Nations that Bill C-5 is now the law of the land,” Phillip said in a statement. “Further, First Nations are now expected to fully accept and accommodate that reality.” Or even more pointedly, Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation Chief Craig Nootchtai called it a “subjugation session — not a consultation session.”

Neither of them were wrong.

Read More: https://thenarwhal.ca/first-nations-summit-bill-c-5/