Trudeau backs away from election pledge on First Nation veto

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a joint press conference with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley Wednesday

(Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during APTN’s virtual town hall hosted by anchor Cheryl McKenzie during the 2015 federal election.)

Watch the virtual town hall interview here

APTN National News
EDMONTON—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to back away Wednesday from an election pledge that First Nations would have a veto over natural resource projects on their territories.

Trudeau was in Edmonton to meet with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley whose provincial economy has been crippled by plummeting oil prices.

Alberta’s economic woes are also being felt across the country and it has increased pressure on Ottawa to back pipelines that will move Alberta-mined bitumen to tidewater.

During a joint press conference with Notley, Trudeau was asked whether he would still stick to his pledge that a First Nation’s no meant “no” on TransCanada’s proposed cross-country Energy East pipeline project and Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline project in British Columbia.

The prime minister responded saying that he was committed to a “renewed relationship” with First Nations that “respect inherent and treaty rights.” He said the federal Liberal government looked to “First Nations and Indigenous peoples as partners in all that happens in this land.”

In an APTN virtual town hall held during the election campaign Trudeau was asked by anchor Cheryl McKenzie whether a no would “mean no under your government?”

Trudeau responded, “Absolutely.”

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11 thoughts on “Trudeau backs away from election pledge on First Nation veto

  1. Mike Marcotte says:

    like all politicians before him, he will say anything to get a vote,

  2. People always in a rush to be cynics – how about wait and see what he does – he has started off on the right foot so far vis-a-vis aboriginal affairs and he doesn’t seem to care what people think of his ideas so I have a little faith – only a troll would say ‘forked tongue’ and his dad has nothing to do with anything – also to the troll Trudeau pledged $700 million to help out province that pissed away massive amounts of money and whined about it the whole time – he’s a better man than anyone in Canadian politics right now

  3. So explain, please, how “absolutely” equals backing away from his pledge? Because in my English dictionary, it means exactly the opposite.

    1. You missed “held during the election campaign.” That was when he said absolutely. On wednesday, he wouldn’t commit now that it’s real.

    2. An election promise is often vastly different than what actually happens once safely elected into power – particularly where Liberal Governments are concerned.

  4. How the hell is what JT said today “backing off” on anything? Seems to me that APTN can “spin” with the best of them if that’s conclusion they come up with… Is APTN becoming another NDP front now? That’s the only conclusion I can come up with in regards to this… Carry on…

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