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AFN chief warns against changes to major projects development rules, calls for debate

National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said Thursday the 30-day consultation window on federal infrastructure reforms is 'not acceptable,' stating proposed changes 'demonstrate a pattern of exclusion' and risk trampling on First Nations rights.
The federal government's proposal would undo the Liberals' eight-year-old Impact Assessment Agency framework, shifting authority for reviewing interprovincial pipelines and offshore renewable energy to the Canada Energy Regulator instead.
Woodhouse Nepinak says upfront pipeline approvals violate the United Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples passed in 2021, and she demands parliamentary committee meetings rather than compressed consultations with chiefs.
The AFN chief warns the Crown will not meet its duty to consult without establishing a proper First Nations process, citing concerns the Carney government will fast-track legislation after early June consultations close.
Woodhouse Nepinak said 'First Nations are willing and able to listen and to work with industry and all governments' as she pushes for a First Nations Clean Water Act while Carney pursues electricity generation growth to 2050 and a West Coast pipeline with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

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Radio-Canada

Lean Left

Major Project Rules: AFN Warns Carney

Ottawa wants to accelerate government evaluations before major projects are launched.

1 day ago·Montreal, Canada

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The Toronto Star

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Lean Left

AFN chief warns against changes to major projects development rules, calls for debate

OTTAWA - The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations says proposed changes to major project development rules "are not acceptable" and risk trampling on the rights of First

1 day ago·Toronto, Canada

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