Carney and premiers to meet on First Nations issues days before federal budget

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada's premiers will hold a First Ministers' meeting on Monday that focuses entirely on First Nations issues. A First Ministers' meeting brings the prime minister together with the heads of the provincial governments.

Carney agreed to a request for a meeting specific to First Nations. Past First Ministers' meetings on Indigenous issues have included First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders together. AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak described the First Nations-only meeting as the first of its kind in Canadian history. The Assembly of First Nations, or AFN, is the national organization representing First Nations across Canada. Carney has promised another First Ministers' meeting later this year, this one focused on Inuit issues.

The Monday meeting comes days before the federal budget on Nov. 5. The AFN is seeking new funding commitments in that budget. On Friday, Nepinak met privately with Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne to discuss a range of issues ahead of the meeting and the budget, according to The Globe and Mail.

Nepinak said Carney's record on Indigenous issues will be tested by the Monday meeting and the budget. "The budget is a big test," she said.

The AFN has criticized Ottawa's approach to speeding up project approvals through Bill C-5 and Bill C-39. Both are federal bills, meaning proposed laws, that aim to accelerate the review of major projects.