Historic meeting raises questions over Indian Act, Bill C-39 and who gets to speak

OTTAWA—Billed as an historic meeting, 119 years in the making, Prime Minister Mark Carney, provincial and territorial leaders and nearly 200 First Nations representatives gathered in Ottawa on October 26 to discuss the future of development in Canada and the place of First Nations within it.

The meeting was scheduled to discuss Bill C-39, Building Canada Strong Act yet what emerged was a conversation about something considerably larger: the future of the Indian Act itself, the 150-year-old legislation that has governed nearly every aspect of First Nations life in Canada while simultaneously attempting to dismantle the very nations it purports to administer.

Beneath the historic declarations, promises of investment and discussions about dismantling colonial legislation lay a more immediate question. Who gets to decide what happens on First Nations lands, and who gets to speak when those decisions are being made? More importantly, who has given them the authority to speak.