OTTAWA—Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett is downplaying the notion of a dispute over Indigenous policy between Jody Wilson-Raybould and other Liberal cabinet members during the period of alleged pressure in the SNC-Lavalin case.

Michael Wernick, the clerk of the Privy Council, told the House of Commons justice committee last month that Trudeau was concerned about delays to the promised Indigenous rights framework last September. Progress slowed because of a “very serious policy difference” between Wilson-Raybould, Bennett and other ministers, he said.

That concern prompted the Sept. 17 meeting with Wilson-Raybould — when the former attorney general and justice minister alleges Trudeau and Wernick pressed her to consider intervening to stop the SNC-Lavalin criminal prosecution for economic and partisan reasons.

Speaking after an event to mark a multimillion dollar settlement deal with former students of “Indian Day Schools” Tuesday, Bennett said there were many different views on the proposed framework, which prompted the government to shelve the idea of a broad legislative package and move forward on individual bills and policy changes ahead of the coming federal election.

Asked repeatedly about Wernick’s description of a disagreement in cabinet, Bennett stressed that she and Wilson-Raybould share the same goals for reforming the relationship between Indigenous communities and the federal government.

“The (former) justice minister, it’s been her whole life. I think yesterday would be good, in terms of how we move forward on reconciliation,” Bennett told the Star. “But I think that — I think we did…have exactly the same ultimate goal of getting people out from under the Indian Act and to self-determination.”

Wilson-Raybould did not respond to an interview request for this story.

The rights framework was proposed in February 2018, when Trudeau outlined the idea in an afternoon speech on the floor of the House of Commons. According to a discussion paper published in September, the framework could have enshrined the Constitution’s Indigenous rights in federal legislation and created a legal pathway for First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities to create their own governments and perform some “core” functions like child services and language and cultural programming.

But the initiative was soon mired in controversy. Rallies were held across the country, including on Parliament Hill, where demonstrators questioned the assumption that Indigenous rights and sovereignty need to be affirmed by the government established by colonial settlers. A report published in June by the Yellowhead Institute at Ryerson University criticized the framework for taking a “narrow” view of Indigenous self-government that falls short of the Trudeau government’s transformational rhetoric.

The Assembly of First Nations, meanwhile, called on Ottawa to restart the framework process, and criticized the government’s view of the initiative for excluding “important questions” like land rights and access to resources.

Terry Teegee, regional chief of the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, said the framework was an opportunity to enshrine Indigenous rights in law, so that communities wouldn’t need to pursue lengthy court battles to have land title and other rights recognized. But he said opposition to the proposal increased as many felt Ottawa was deciding how the framework would work without taking Indigenous feedback and contributions to heart.

“Most of the initiative engagement and discussion, in many respects was driven by the government,” he said. “There was a lot of mistrust.”

Teegee added that he assumed Wilson-Raybould — as a former regional chief of the AFN in B.C. and justice minister — would be heavily involved in developing the framework, but that Bennett’s office took the lead.

“I think they really dropped the ball on a positive opportunity,” he said.

In the wake of the opposition to how Ottawa was building the rights framework, Bennett said the government is still moving forward on individual pieces of the initiative. These include bills tabled recently to support the preservation and revitalization of Indigenous languages, as well as to transfer authority for child and family services to Indigenous governing entities to prevent children being removed from their home communities and placed in foster care.

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Clément Chartier, president of the Métis National Council, said he is hopeful the Trudeau government can change policies to include Métis in the land claims process and help the nation transition toward federally-recognized self-government in its traditional territories.

“Here’s a great opportunity, and unfortunately this red herring and this SNC issue is derailing the whole thing. It’s actually a pity,” he said.

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