In The Weekly Wrap Sean Speer, our editor-at-large, analyses for Hub subscribers the big stories shaping politics, policy, and the economy in the week that was.
The AFN is just a lobby, nothing more and nothing less
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre broke a promise this week. He spoke to a lobby group—in fact, he spoke to one of the biggest and best-funded lobby groups in the country: the Assembly of First Nations.
The AFN likes to position itself as a representative voice of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples and their chief interlocuter vis-à-vis the federal government. But its fundamental purpose is as an advocacy and lobby organization for First Nations leadership across the country. It’s much more like the chamber of commerce for First Nations chiefs than it is as a legitimate vehicle for nation-to-nation relations.
One key difference though is that the federal government finances the AFN’s operations. Of its annual revenues of $53 million, Ottawa is the source of just over 90 percent—including a $40 million annual grant from the Department of Indian Services. (The Trudeau government cynically increased funding for the AFN in its first budget “in the true spirit of cooperation.”)
While Poilievre deserves tremendous credit for his efforts to strengthen the Conservative Party’s standing with Indigenous Peoples—including nominating Indigenous candidates like Ellis Ross and Billy Morin—, he should continue to build relationships at the community level rather than through the AFN. Not only has it shown itself to be a dysfunctional organization in recent years, but its longer track record brings into question its good-faith commitment to improving the lives of Indigenous Peoples.
