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OTTAWA — Several First Nations leaders are calling on the Liberal government to withdraw its proposed access-to-information bill, saying the legislation will hinder progress toward reconciliation.

“Bill C-58 is a regressive piece of legislation that needs to be abandoned,” said Chief Bob Chamberlin, vice-president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill on Monday alongside four other chiefs and NDP justice critic Murray Rankin. “It is going to restrict access to information not only for First Nations people but for all Canadians, and this is not the hallmark of a new government that wants to build and respect transparency and accountability.”

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The chiefs plan to present a resolution rejecting the bill in its current form to Assembly of First Nations chiefs in Ottawa this week.

“I think that the only option now for this government is to withdraw the bill and to go back into dialogue with First Nations,” said Chief Harry St-Denis of the Wolf Lake First Nation in Quebec.