AFN Leaders Debate Water Bill and Fast-Track Project Push
Chiefs are weighing a water bill that drops explicit clean-water rights as 53 resolutions also target major projects and consultation rules.
- On Tuesday, hundreds of First Nations chiefs gathered at the Rogers Centre in Ottawa for the Assembly of First Nations annual general meeting, beginning three days of debates on 53 resolutions and policy discussions.
- AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak criticized the government's new water bill, C-37, arguing it weakens protections by replacing explicit recognition of the human right to safe water with a commitment to 'progressive realization'.
- Following Monday's water walk where more than 100 people gathered, Chief Greg Sarazin of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation described his community's nearly 40-year struggle to secure safe water just 120 kilometres from Ottawa.
- Debate intensified over the federal government's one-year consultation timeline for major projects, with Woodhouse Nepinak warning these reforms could undermine approval legitimacy and threaten constitutional obligations to Indigenous peoples.
- The fall meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney was described by Woodhouse Nepinak as a 'big test' of the government's ability to reconcile economic growth with First Nations rights and constitutional obligations.
43 Articles
43 Articles
Major projects, child welfare among big issues for AFN Assembly
First Nations chiefs, and other leaders from communities across the country have some heavy issues to talk about at the Assembly of First Nations 2026 Annual General Assembly. They’re gathered in Ottawa for the next three days and dealing with a packed agenda—including 53 resolutions brought forward by chiefs. Resource development is expected to be a hot topic since Prime Minister Mark Carney turned his focus to economic resilience, sovereignty,…
nanaimonewsnow.com
Chiefs tell AFN meeting new federal clean water bill walks back hard-won rights
OTTAWA — First Nations leaders and two opposition MPs are denouncing the Carney government's new proposed clean water legislation, which drops wording in a previous version that would have explicitly recognized First Nations' right to clean drinking wa...
Collingwood Today
First Nations chiefs to debate major projects, Indian Act changes in Ottawa
OTTAWA — Hundreds of First Nations chiefs are gathering in Ottawa today for the Assembly of First Nations annual meeting. They'll be debating 53 separate resolutions during the three-day gathering.
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