Latest news with #Diabo
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Kahnawake council grand chief walks out of Carney meeting
Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) grand chief Cody Diabo was one of multiple attendees to walk out of a meeting with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney last week, in an event that Diabo characterized as more of a PR stunt than a meaningful consultation. 'I refuse to be a photo op or have Kahnawake be a campaign tool for any foreign governments,' Diabo said. 'I was very, very disappointed with the event overall.' Diabo was one of over 600 members of Indigenous leadership who were in Gatineau last week for a summit concerning Bill C-5, now known as The Building Canada Act. The Act is supposed to facilitate the fast-tracking of certain major infrastructure projects with the intention of strengthening Canada's economy, but many First Nations leaderships have expressed concern that it could come at the expense of Indigenous communities' rights. A lack of meaningful consultation was a major topic before the passing of the Bill, with many Indigenous groups, including the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) arguing that the legislation was being rushed through with little regard for Indigenous input. The summit in Gatineau was pitched as a way for community leaders to have facetime with Carney and voice their concerns, Diabo said, but instead felt like a slap in the face. He waited six-and-a-half hours before an opportunity arose to say anything at the meeting. 'I had got on the mic, stated my displeasure, said that I didn't want my name or Kahnawake's name attached to whatever this was, and I blatantly told him I had better training session engagements than whatever this was,' Diabo said. The structure of the meeting wasn't conducive to meaningful engagement, Diabo said. Attendees sat at large tables with other leadership from similar regions, leading to an environment where it felt like participants talked more amongst themselves than directly to Carney and his cabinet. Tables were to discuss guiding questions in their groups, and then each table was asked to answer just one question per session, for a total of four questions throughout the event. 'We were engaging ourselves and Canadian officials would just hear what we had to say, rather than just dialogue directly with them about it,' Diabo said. It was a completely different structure than he's seen before for these kind of meetings, Diabo said, and he added that it felt insulting. 'It almost felt like we were in some kind of high school thing, where it's like, 'You sit down, you answer these questions, and you answer only when you're called upon, when you're picked, and if you're not picked, you don't have an ability to speak,'' he said. 'It was very disheartening. I'm very disappointed.' While topics like meaningful consultation and economic partnerships were brought up at the summit, Diabo ultimately felt like the prime minister's thoughts on the issues read as performative. 'The consultation stuff they know. We've sent many of these responses to them already with our concerns about how consultation normally is. They're just asking for the same information that I know Kahnawake has already sent numerous times in correspondence with federal entities,' he said. Diabo said that the event featured panellists, including Indigenous panellists, but that all of those panellists seemed to be in favour of the legislation. It felt at odds with the reality of the situation, Diabo said, because while the Indigenous people on the panel looked favourably on the Act, most of the Indigenous people in the room felt strongly opposed to it. 'I don't know if it was a way for them to have their 'token Indians' or whatnot, but I felt kind of speechless about it,' Diabo said. He felt particularly disappointed to see the amount of airtime given to the AFN who were granted time for opening remarks. It's another move that Diabo feels demonstrates how the Canadian government views the AFN as a government, instead of an advocacy organization. He had a particular issue with the AFN national chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, who he felt gave Carney too much praise for simply hosting the meeting. 'She said, 'We're all glad that you're our prime minister,' and I had to correct that and say that he's not our prime minister, we're individual sovereign nations, and we don't look at Canada as being our leaders,' he said. 'A lot of the speaking points from AFN were about that.' Diabo was one of several chiefs to walk out of the summit, and Diabo said he's prepared to collaborate with other First Nations leadership in fighting against the legislation. He's already been speaking with leaders from the Oneida Nation of the Thames, who are one of nine First Nations in Ontario launching legal action against the Act, and the MCK will be reviewing their submissions in the filings. 'Who knows, maybe we'll partake in it, or we'll launch our own, those are things we're going to start exploring,' Diabo said. In a written statement to The Eastern Door, Anispiragas Piragasanathara, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), said that meetings will continue between the prime minister and his cabinet as well as Indigenous communities about the Act to ensure its implementation 'proceeds in the spirit of collaboration grounded in meaningful engagement.' They did not address questions concerning the views expressed about the event and the chiefs who walked out of the meeting. eve@ Eve Cable, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Minister meets with Kahnawake Council
Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) grand chief Cody Diabo said he feels hopeful about the future relationship between the community and Rebecca Alty, the federal minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, after a successful introductory meeting this week. 'I think overall the meeting went really well, the minister was really engaged, she had a lot of questions and was wanting to really figure it out, and echoed the same things as us,' Diabo said. Alty is non-Indigenous but hails from the Northwest Territories and served as the 15th mayor of Yellowknife until this year. She was appointed to the office of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs in May, taking over from minister Gary Anandasangaree, who had held the office after Marc Miller under Justin Trudeau's leadership as prime minister. Mark Carney, who was elected to the office of prime minister in March, shuffled Anandasangaree to Public Safety, making Alty the first-ever full cabinet minister with a named portfolio to be from the Northwest Territories. Alec Wilson, a representative for Alty's office, said that the minister was 'grateful' to participate in the meeting. 'The minister looks forward to staying engaged and working together as partners in the weeks and months to come,' Wilson said. Diabo said several topics were discussed, including the topic of negotiations for the Seigneury of Sault St. Louis, and the need for better communication between the federal government and the MCK. 'I really liked the sense that with fresh eyes, maybe she can see something that the others didn't. So there's a lot of hopes right now, it was a really great meeting,' he said. He said that he also took the opportunity to express his discontentment with the recently passed Bill C-5, now known as The Building Canada Act. The Act seeks to fast-track major infrastructure projects, but several communities across Turtle Island, including Kahnawake, have expressed concern that rushing through projects might come at the expense of Indigenous rights. Diabo was in Ottawa on Thursday to meet with federal leadership to discuss the bill further, including Mandy Gull-Masty, who is the first-ever Indigenous person to lead Indigenous Services Canada (ISC). This week, it was also announced that nine First Nations in Ontario have filed a legal challenge against the law, in tandem with a challenge against Ontario's Bill 5, which is similar in nature. 'I told her that in Kahnawake we're very vocal. We say what we need to say, we say what's on our mind, and we'll definitely be reaching out when there's concerns and things like that. It's not personal against her, but it's about the machine that she represents,' he said. eve@ Eve Cable, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
National Observer
17-07-2025
- Politics
- National Observer
Carney's megaprojects summit sees one chief walk out as others express cautious optimism
Expressing 'extreme dissatisfaction,' a First Nation chief walked out of the high-stakes meeting Thursday with Prime Minister Mark Carney about the government's controversial major projects bill. Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Grand Chief Cody Diabo left the meeting just before 3 p.m., expressing deep frustration 'with how things are going in there.' 'He needs to engage with 634 communities individually, not cram us in one room, try to get as much feedback as possible, or lean on an advocacy organization like the AFN (Assembly of First Nations) that they pay to, say, consult with First Nations on our behalf,' Diabo said. The summit was supposed to be about engagement, but in Diabo's view, that is not what went down. 'Essentially, what we're doing is engaging with the people at our table, who are my colleagues, who I speak with almost every other day,' he said. 'I could have stayed home and did that.' The summit at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, initially organized to address concerns that the controversial nation-building bill will trample Indigenous rights, is the first of several meetings organized by the federal government, with Inuit and Métis summits expected in coming weeks. If Thursday's meeting is any indication of how the PMO intends to stickhandle its major projects file, it's not looking good, according to many First Nation leaders. Last-minute changes to the agenda added to the already tense atmosphere, with documents obtained by Canada's National Observer showing the day's schedule was altered to allow less discussion and a more tightly scripted day. 'He needs to engage with 634 communities individually, not cram us in one room," Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Grand Chief Cody Diabo said as he left. Still, the phrase of the day was 'cautiously optimistic' — BC Assembly of First Nations Chief Terry Teegee and many other attendees used that phrase to describe the meeting, which received very mixed reviews from First Nations leaders. Carney opened the summit by telling the packed room that, 'Respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples is a fundamental purpose of the Building Canada Act.' Last-minute changes Speaking at that press conference, chiefs from Treaty 6 and Treaty 8 territories described a process that was flawed from the start. Chief Phyllis Whitford of the O'Chiese First Nation called the summit 'political theatre,' that saw hand-picked groups speaking in a process she called 'disrespectful, top-down and [which] divided Indigenous leaders' by privileging some voices over others. She also noted the summit's last minute invitations, last minute agenda, and that chiefs' advisors had been denied participation. Canada's National Observer obtained a draft agenda that was significantly changed ahead of the meeting to narrow speaking opportunities for nation representatives. The draft agenda showed that after welcoming remarks from Carney and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse, chiefs from each province and territory would be allotted 25 minutes, with each region responsible for choosing who would speak. From 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., attendees would have the opportunity to hear the perspectives of each region in a format some considered more consultative. That agenda was changed to limit remarks and focus the day's conversation on implementing the major projects legislation. The final agenda was focused on welcoming remarks from Carney (10 minutes), Cindy Woodhouse (five minutes), the land claims agreement coalition (five minutes), and then working group 'dialogues' — which were composed of a handful of chiefs and federal cabinet members. 'The how, not the what' Speaking to reporters in the morning, Carney said he ran on 'building Canada strong' and received a mandate for doing that, calling Bill C-5 'our signature piece of legislation.' 'This is the first step of putting that into action. We're starting as we mean to go on, which means engaging with First Nations,' he said. 'Today, we'll be talking about building in partnership with First Nations, in some cases in partnership, in some cases with projects led by First Nations. Today is about the 'how,' not the 'what.'' Carney acknowledged trust is the central question at hand as nations criticize the legislation. 'This is enabling legislation; it doesn't say which projects or how we're going to build them,' he said. 'The first thing we do is sit down and discuss exactly that in an open way, to listen, that's always good advice, that's why I'm here. 'I'll say a few words at the start and answer questions at the end, but I'm here to listen, engage and move forward from that.' Carney said Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act, 'is the first federal legislation to put Indigenous economic growth at its centre.' He said the government will also be launching a 'regional dialogue and consultation process' to get more input, and in the coming weeks, Carney will meet with the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee and then Métis leadership. He said no projects have been finalized yet. Even if no projects have been finally decided, priority projects are actively being considered, Canada's National Observer has reported. LNG export terminals, roads cutting through vulnerable ecosystems, a new mammoth hydro dam, thousands of kilometres of transmission lines, and reviving the Northern Gateway oil pipeline — which ignited First Nation protests over a decade ago before the project was shelved — are all receiving serious consideration. And that is the point. Under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — which Carney has promised to uphold — free, prior and informed consent from impacted Indigenous nations is a prerequisite of any projects affecting their rights, and not something that is supposed to be negotiated after a project has already been designated in the national interest. The major projects legislation 'centralizes economic decision-making in Ottawa, while sidelining treaty nations' jurisdictions in the economy,' said Chief Vernon Watchmaker from the Kehewin Cree Nation. 'The legislation frames us as stakeholders, rather than sovereign partners. This is unacceptable. The newly enacted legislation 'lets the cabinet override environmental laws and ignores treaty and inherent rights,' he said. 'That is not modernization, it is colonization in 2025.' For most of the day the media were barred from the Canadian Museum of History, except during Carney's remarks. Reporters and camera crews loitered outside the doors, waiting for chiefs to come outside during the breaks. In a mid-day interview with Canada's National Observer outside the museum, Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chief Na'Moks said 'it's a script' and 'everything is predetermined.' 'They are taking responses from the crowd, but again, they're very careful on who they give the microphone to, and they have a limited amount of time,' he said. 'Every voice I've heard so far is in opposition to this,' Na'Moks added. Not everyone shared his view. Siksika Nation Chief Ouray Crowfoot told Canada's National Observer he doesn't have a lot of confidence in the process as a whole, but is 'cautiously optimistic' and applauded Carney for gathering the chiefs together. 'We are definitely pro-corporate movement, pro-economic development … We don't want to halt anything,' Crowfoot said. 'But at the same time, like any other partnership, you can't have a one-sided partnership.' Crowfoot noted that some First Nations are well off, while others are quite poor, and every situation is different, particularly regionally. 'We're still hungry, but we're not starving, so we're not going to just go grab any morsel that comes off the table. It's got to make sense,' Crowfoot said. 'I'm all for developing these economic resources … But if it's at the detriment of clean water or the detriment of our treaty rights, then that dollar is not as important to me. We don't need that dollar as much as we needed it before.' Minegoziibe Anishinabe Chief Derek Nepinak was also 'cautiously optimistic' and had a more positive view of the meeting than Diabo. 'From what I've seen, I believe it has been a success,' Nepinak told reporters in the afternoon. 'I think that this is just getting the ball rolling. This is just the start of much deeper conversations that have to happen across the regions and right down to the communities. But overall, I would say the objectives, from what I can tell, on our part, have been met.' That said, he is not without concerns. Nepinak doesn't think the type of consultations First Nation citizens want can happen in the federal government's target timeframe of one to two years. The federal government committed $40 million for capacity-building around consultations for major projects, but that's 'nowhere near what's going to be required to have adequate consultation at the level and at the depth that's going to be required to get buy-in from First Nations communities.' 'Extremely dirty' Youth protesters marched up to the museum just after noon, chanting and brandishing signs opposing Bill C-5 and development in the Ring of Fire — one of the major projects expected to make the list of projects Carney designates in the national interest. Law enforcement tried to move the protesters to a sidewalk away from the museum, but the youth held their ground and gave several impassioned speeches. Keisha Paul-Martin, president of the youth advisory council in Kashechewan First Nation, said the legislation disrespects their treaty and threatens biodiversity, speaking of the impact mining has on their lands, culture and way of life. 'Your money will not matter in the future, Mother Earth is forever, and you guys cannot disrespect it!' Paul-Martin said to the crowd. Some youth were accompanied by their parents and grandparents who stood by them and offered support while their children spoke to the press and onlookers. Na'moks and Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan leaders offered support for the protesters and condemned the fact that youth were not invited to the summit. 'It doesn't matter which government it is. It could be the liberally violent one. It could be the non-Democratic Party, and it could be the KKK conservative, the very fact that they're not involving Indigenous people and youth is wrong,' Na'Moks said, immediately after the youth rallied outside the museum. 'Elected officials, they're like diapers,' Na'Moks said. 'They need to be changed when they're getting dirty, and right now, what they're doing is extremely dirty.' Diabo, who left the meeting in the afternoon, said his nation is not opposed to economic development, but because their land and resources will be exploited for economic development, nations need to decide which projects should proceed — not the prime minister. 'The hard part about these conversations is that they do seem preconceived,' said Jeff Copenace, chief of the Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation. 'They seem like notions that the prime minister already has a notion of what he wants to accomplish. And we're hoping to be at these conversations from the outset, at the very, very beginning, not late, when the legislation's already passed.'
Hamilton Spectator
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
One year on: Kahnawake grand chief reflects
It's been one year since the current Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) were elected to their current roles, and it's a year that's been marked with political ups and downs. For many in the community, the term so far has been less than ideal, with lawsuits and controversy on issues like cannabis overshadowing any major successes. For others, including MCK grand chief Cody Diabo, there's been several key highlights that represent serious progress in the community. Among those includes a historic agreement signed with Quebec in December of last year, which Diabo said makes for a more promising path forward in interactions with the province. 'Obviously it's not a done deal, the relationship itself is still not where it needs to be, I think it's going to take a lot of time and conversations between me and the premier to make sure that its spirit is followed up on, but it was long-awaited,' Diabo said. For Diabo, many of the key achievements of this Council have been land-based, and he pointed to the launch of the Still Ours campaign earlier last month, which seeks to educate people about the Seigneury of Sault St. Louis. 'It was launched a little bit later than we had hoped, but it's definitely generating a lot of buzz,' he said. Diabo and the rest of the Council table have also seen an overhaul at the federal level, after Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister in March. Tensions have been high since then, with the MCK one of many Indigenous governments opposing the recently passed Bill C-5, which aims to fast-track infrastructure projects. Many, including MCK chiefs, say that the bill comes at the expense of Indigenous land rights, and though Diabo invited Carney to discuss it in Kahnawake, he didn't receive direct communication from the prime minister before its passage. He will be attending a meeting with Carney and a number of other federal ministers next week, including Mandy Gull-Masty, the first-ever Indigenous minister of Indigenous services. 'I'm hoping me and him can at least have some dialogue,' Diabo said. The Council table has also faced a number of lawsuits over the past year, including a $220.57 million suit from Magic Palace, which is suing MCK and Diabo personally, as well as a lawsuit from former head of Mohawk Online, Dean Montour, whom the MCK responded to with a countersuit. 'I'd say it's not uncommon when decisions are made that sometimes it'll result in legal situations for the Council, and there's been things over the history of MCK that get brought to court,' Diabo said. Of the 12 MCK chiefs at the council table, five were new. It's therefore been a very different year than the last, as the organization adjusts to that new leadership, Diabo said. 'It takes a little while to find your footing to start working as a team, it's not easy bringing 12 people together and trying to get it to work together. Of course we'll have differing opinions, and that's why the community put us here, to represent all these different opinions and positions,' he said. 'There's been lots of conversations and people getting used to the expectations of the role.' He said he's confident about the rest of the term to come and that return of lands is one of his biggest priorities going forward. 'That was a major point for me in the election as well as a priority for the rest of the community, so that's still one of our focuses and the team is working really hard on it,' he said. eve@ Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Kanien'kehá:ka say a vast swath of Montreal's South Shore is theirs. They want their claim settled
As development creeps closer to Kahnawà:ke's borders, Grand Chief Cody Diabo says the community near Montreal is fed up — watching homes and businesses get built on land they say has belonged to them for centuries, while a 345-year-old land grievance remains stalled in federal bureaucracy. The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) launched an information campaign and a new website in the hopes of breathing new life into the land claim, known as the Seigneury of Sault St. Louis (SSSL) Land Grievance. The area in question, about 97 square kilometres, extends beyond Kahnawà:ke's current borders and contains several municipalities across the Montérégie region on the South Shore. "We have to right the wrongs from the past," said Diabo, adding that he's not settling for less than what's owed. "Not only is there the past use that we've been prohibited from benefiting from, but future as well. Because as long as the lands are still not returned to Kahnawà:ke and they're being developed for different uses to other people's benefits, it's a concern." The federal government accepted the grievance in 2003. But Diabo said talks have been slow moving in the decades since, revolving around negotiation protocols — or "negotiating how to negotiate," as he puts it. Michael Coyle, a professor specializing in Indigenous rights and dispute resolution at Western University, said that when Canada accepts a claim, that means its lawyers have decided Canada continues to have an outstanding legal obligation toward the First Nation. "It doesn't commit [Canada] to reaching a particular agreement or to include land in an agreement, but it does commit them to negotiate a claim that they have found to be a valid claim," he said. Meanwhile, Diabo said he wants the government to issue a directive pausing development efforts on SSSL or at least include the band in those discussions. The SSSL includes Sainte-Catherine, Delson, St-Constant, parts of Châteauguay and parts of other municipalities. In 1680, French King Louis the XIV granted parcels of land, a seigneury, to the Jesuits to set up a mission and for the use and occupation of the Iroquois, or Kanien'kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke. The Kanienʼkehá꞉ka of Kahnawà:ke are part of the larger Iroquois Confederacy. Historical documents show the grant stipulated that settlers would not be allowed on the land. The Jesuits began granting part of the land to French settlers nonetheless. In 1762, a British general, Thomas Gage, ruled in favour of a complaint lodged by the Kanien'kehá:ka, reversing the concessions. However, the matter was never completely settled and the Kanien'kehá:ka continued to be dispossessed of their lands through the years so that today, Kahnawà:ke's territory accounts for just over 50 square kilometres. Diabo said the band wants to have a serious conversation with the federal and provincial governments to formulate a transition plan. As for the people living in the affected municipalities, Diabo said a successful settlement to the claim doesn't necessarily mean further displacement. "We're not monsters at the end of the day, even though historically that's what happened to us. People moved in and then removed us from our areas," said Diabo. "We're not like that." A spokesperson for the federal government's Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) said the government has been working with the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke in the spirit of co-operation and partnership to resolve the outstanding SSSL through confidential negotiations. "We remain committed to a negotiated outcome that advances the priorities of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke," said Eric Head. In a statement, the Quebec government said the negotiations are exclusively between the MCK and the federal government and that it is not participating. WATCH | What's the Seigneury of Sault St. Louis Land Grievance?: In Quebec, there are currently 22 specific claims in progress between various bands and the Canadian government. According to CIRNAC, among the 115 claims concluded in the province, almost 60 per cent were settled through negotiation, while just under 40 per cent resulted in the finding of no lawful obligation on the part of the Crown. The remaining two were settled through an administrative remedy. The government frequently chooses to settle grievances by offering land that they make available as a substitute to the disputed land if, for example, there are people living there, Coyle said. In other cases they offer money which the band can use to buy private land. A third possibility, which he said he hasn't seen yet, is the expropriation of private land to settle a dispute. "We use expropriation in a lot of different contexts in Canada. It's being used in Toronto, for example, right now to build new subway lines," said Coyle. Solutions demand creativity, he said. Diabo is hopeful they'll get there. He also hopes Kahnawà:ke's neighbours will get educated on the dispute and better understand his community's perspective. "Rather than kick it down the road and … exacerbate the situation, let's settle it right now," he said. "We're here now."
