Singh tells AFN chiefs NDP will fight for Indigenous rights, justice for First Nations

Brett Forester · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 5:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

New Democrats would proceed to combat injustice and unit the national authorities to respect Indigenous Peoples' quality rights if elected to Parliament, Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday successful an predetermination transportation to First Nations.

Those rights see the close to harmless water, pact and inherent rights, and the close to person nationalist services escaped from radical discrimination, the NDP leader said successful a virtual gathering with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN).

"Indigenous radical are a precedence for me," Singh said from Edmonton pursuing a greeting rally.

"The quality dignity of each radical should beryllium a precedence and the archetypal radical of this onshore person to person entree to dignity, quality rights and respect."

The AFN, a nationalist advocacy enactment for chiefs, is hosting virtual forums with enactment leaders up of the April 28 wide election. Green Party Co-Leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault appeared successful a league April 14. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre addressed the forum Tuesday.

Singh is urging voters to forestall a Liberal "supermajority," and warned First Nations chiefs against Liberal Leader Mark Carney's promises of fund cuts and taxation breaks.

"When they privation to enactment to assistance retired their friends, they tin spell truly quickly. But erstwhile it comes to Indigenous radical who request basal quality rights, there's nary money," said Singh.

Singh cited the NDP's achievements successful the past 2 number governments, specified arsenic getting unanimous enactment for a question recognizing residential schools arsenic genocide and the NDP's efforts to clasp the Liberals accountable for warring Indigenous kid advocates successful court. 

"We've seen this before: When the Liberals person each the power, they hide to act. But erstwhile New Democrats are there, erstwhile we're beardown successful Ottawa, we're capable to propulsion them and unit them," helium said.

The AFN is asking all leaders a question each connected 5 predetermined topics: Canada-U.S. borderline and commercialized issues, the First Nations infrastructure gap, water, policing, and children and families.

Pledges to honour UNDRIP

After that, a moderator asked written questions submitted by chiefs, which often raised the United Nations Declaration connected the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

UNDRIP is an planetary instrumentality that recognizes Indigenous Peoples' quality rights, including the close to springiness oregon withhold consent for concern projects that interaction them. 

The Conservatives person opposed this argumentation arsenic a "veto," portion the Liberals passed a instrumentality to implement UNDRIP successful 2021 and promised to determination guardant with it. 

In his quality Tuesday, Poilievre offered the chiefs his imaginativeness of economical prosperity done assets and infrastructure development, but helium reiterated concerns with UNDRIP and declined to endorse the Liberals' UNDRIP Act.

Singh said helium is "fundamentally driven" by the declaration and promised to uphold it.

"If there's immoderate improvement of projects, that has to hap with free, anterior and informed consent" of Indigenous nations, helium said.

Residential schools, water, policing

While campaigning successful 2015, Justin Trudeau famously promised to extremity semipermanent boil h2o advisories connected reserves by 2021, a deadline his authorities missed.

Carney's Liberal platform promises to instantly reintroduce and walk authorities affirming that First Nations person a quality close to cleanable drinking water, a measure that died erstwhile Trudeau suspended Parliament past year.

Singh said the NDP would unit the authorities to not conscionable reintroduce but amended the bill.

"It is specified a denial of basal quality rights to not person entree to cleanable drinking water, and truthful this has to beryllium remedied," said Singh.

Singh was besides asked astir NDP enactment for communities searching for unmarked graves astatine the sites of residential schools.

The NDP's level is the lone 1 of the 3 starring nationalist governmental parties to explicitly committedness to afloat instrumentality each 94 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to enactment and supply semipermanent backing for those searches.

The Liberal level promises to "move guardant connected the important work," successful these areas, portion the Conservative level doesn't notation them astatine all.

WATCH | NDP person addresses AFN past summer: 

The NDP level besides promises to present authorities to combat residential schoolhouse denialism and name a peculiar authoritative to analyse crimes against Indigenous Peoples committed successful the institutions.

Singh's enactment says it volition extremity the chronic underfunding of kid and household services by negotiating semipermanent programme reform, addressing the backlog of Jordan's Principle applications and ensuring imperishable backing for the Inuit Child First Initiative.

The enactment besides promises to motorboat a nationalist enquiry into systemic unit and racism successful Canadian institutions, and state First Nations policing an indispensable service.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney is scheduled to code the forum Friday.