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Once the dam has been built and the jobs are gone…once you’ve handed-out the beads, what do you have that’s going to benefit the community in the long term?

Trudeau’s government has also made little progress in addressing a housing crisis on aboriginal reserves. Figures compiled by the New Democratic Party show the Liberals plan to build just 300 new homes across Canada this year, despite acknowledging a need for 20,000. The cost of the shortfall across Canada is estimated at $6 billion, yet the 2016 federal budget provided funding for First Nations housing of just $206.6 million. Although Ottawa says it has signed agreements to build, renovate or retrofit nearly 5,000 units this year and next, it remains far short of the need.

Perhaps the most contentious issue, however, has been Liberal support for an $8.8 billion dam project near Fort St. John in northern British Columbia, which is opposed by native communities and has been criticized by Robert-Falcon Ouellette, a Liberal MP of Cree background who was star candidate for the party in the last election.

The project would flood 83 kilometres of land along the Peace River to provide hydro-electric power to about 450,000 homes, according to B.C. Hydro. The utility stresses that the dam, known as Site C, would “be a source of clean, renewable and cost-effective electricity in B.C. for more than 100 years.”

But local aboriginal communities are opposed to the plan, arguing it would flood a “main artery” for wildlife and obliterate important native heritage sites. Two First Nations are challenging it in court, while native leaders say the Trudeau Liberals have failed to follow through on their pledge to fully consult with them over their concerns.