The New Brunswick government and its Aboriginal Affairs minister continue to face the consequences of their decision to gut a motion that would’ve called for a public inquiry into systemic racism in the province’s justice system.
Three Mi’gmaq and Wolastoqiyik chiefs announced on Wednesday that they will no longer take part in the All Nation and All Party Working Group on Reconciliation, which is meant to implement the call to actions from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 2016 report.
“Based on last week’s vote, it is clear the (Blaine) Higgs government is not interested in solutions from (I)ndigenous leaders. The working group appears to have been used as a political smoke screen,” said Chief Ross Perley of the Neqotkuk or Tobique First Nation, in a press release.
“For us it’s not political, it’s personal. It impacts lives in our communities.”
Perley was joined by Chief Rebecca Knockwood of Fort Folly First Nation and Regional Vice-Chief Roger Augustine in abandoning the group, which has already received substantial criticism from Indigenous groups in the province.
This is just the latest step in what has already been a quickly-deteriorating relationship between the First Nations in the province and Aboriginal affairs minister Arlene Dunn.
Despite the Wolastoqey First Nation and Mi’kmaq Nations repeatedly urging the provincial government to call an inquiry following the deaths of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi at the hands of police over the summer, Premier Blaine Higgs and Dunn have so far resisted, saying an inquiry should be federal in scope and that they take time.
Knockwood disagrees.
“Inquiries take as long as they need to take,” she told Global News in an interview on Wednesday.
“It could take several years, but we need to get started now because we know there’s systemic racism in the justice system and in policing, so we need something done now.”
Gutting motion sparked decision
Last week, Dunn proposed an amendment that would strip the section of a motion calling for an inquiry. Instead, she proposed that the legislative assembly “acknowledge” that systemic racism exists and take steps to eliminate it, that the assembly continues to consult with Indigenous Nations to “eliminate” systemic racism and to support the working group on reconciliation.
When tabling the amendment, Dunn said that there are already countless recommendations from past commissions and inquiries gathering dust that can be actioned through the working group.
But the Wolastoqey First Nation and Mi’kmaq Nations said they had met with Dunn in an attempt to make it clear that previous reports do not specifically address racism in New Brunswick, nor racism in the justice system, and that the need for an inquiry is separate and apart from the need for action on past commissions and inquiries that addressed other issues.
Despite their protests the motion, as amended by Dunn, ultimately passed 24-23.
The entire opposition voted against it and they were joined by former Aboriginal Affairs minister and PC MLA Jake Stewart. Stewart spoke in favour of an inquiry over the summer and was removed from his cabinet post after the election.
The motion’s passage quickly resulted in calls for Dunn’s resignation last week. It’s now been followed by the decision by Perley, Knockwood and Augustine to walk away from the working group.
“Unfortunately, in light of recent events, we no longer have confidence that Minister Dunn and her government were approaching this work with the good faith and spirit of cooperation that it requires,” Perley said in the press release Wednesday.
The press release issued Wednesday details the three chiefs concerns, including that that province was using the All Nation and All Party Working Group on Reconciliation as an alternative into an inquiry into systemic racism in the justice system.
“Our initial meetings with her showed the minister continued to reiterate views of the government rather than listen and seek to understand where we were coming from,” Knockwood said.
During question period at the Legislature Wednesday, Dunn said the government’s respect for First Nations will be addressed with long-overdue actions, rather than words.
“The fact that we’ve committed to doing something about the recommendations in the TRC speaks much louder than many of the verbiages that have taken place over the last several years,” she said.
Higgs said Wednesday that it was disappointing to hear that the Mi’gmaq and Wolastoqiyik chiefs were pulling out of the working group.
“The first kind of genuine effort to address past recommendations and historic recommendations that haven’t been followed through, there’s no debate that has been a shortcoming of past inquiries or studies. So it’s very unfortunate that they’re not willing to give that a try, at least at this juncture,” he said.
The All Nation and All Party Working Group on Reconciliation was set to meet on Monday. Dunn will still be at the meeting, Higgs confirmed, even if it appears Indigenous leaders may not.
Higgs says he’s hopeful they will return to the table.
But Knockwood says they’ll push forward with their own process, working with other First Nation communities and with their elders as they continue to implement the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
They may invite New Brunswick to the discussion.
— With files from Global News’ Callum Smith
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