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OTTAWA — Three national Indigenous leaders say Indigenous Peoples should be at the centre of any discussions on how the country should respond to incoming U.S. president Donald Trump’s threats on tariffs and Canada’s territorial sovereignty.
National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed and Métis National Council President Victoria Pruden made that pitch during a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday morning.
Those same leaders were barred from a meeting with premiers that happened just after, which Obed called a “regressive imagination” of what makes up Canadian governance.
“If we’re trying to unite against an external threat, the idea that provinces, territories and the federal government are the sum total of governance in this country is just an outdated and wrong-headed approach,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press Thursday, adding the decision for their exclusion laid with the premiers themselves despite Trudeau advocating for their inclusion.
Trump has threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods shipped to the U.S. on his first day back in office next week and has quipped Canada should become the 51st state, along with floating the idea of annexing Greenland — part of the Inuit homelands.
Obed, whose organization is a member of the Inuit Circumpolar Council which represents Inuit in Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Russia, said Inuit have largely mobilized at times like these to support each other, and that he also expects to work closely with Greenlandic and Alaskan Inuit to ensure they act collectively.
“We are ready to play as significant as a role as we possibly can (in Canada-U.S. relations) to articulate the positions of Canada and ultimately, that’s where we want this story to land,” Obed said.
“From a diplomatic sense, we want to ensure that the Government of Canada is taking this threat seriously and that our interests are fully articulated and met.”
Woodhouse Nepinak called Trump’s rhetoric “outlandish” and “disrespectful” and said the territorial rights of Indigenous Peoples on both sides of the border are recognized by international law and predate the founding of both countries.
“First Nations lands hold the key to much of Canada’s wealth, critical minerals and energy resources that are pivotal to domestic prosperity and trade with the United States,” she said in an interview.
She said First Nations should be at the heart of any decisions the prime minister and premiers might make on economic development and trade.
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