These are the conversations that matter.
I had the honour of sitting down with the leaders and members of Sayisi Dene First Nation, Northlands Denesuline, and O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation joined by Grand Chief Settee — for meaningful conversations on the pressing issues facing MKO nations.
Listening. Learning. Working together toward real solutions. That is how this office operates. The communities of Churchill–Keewatinook Aski deserve a federal representative who shows up before the press release — who sits in the room, hears the hard things, and carries them back to Ottawa.
The issues facing MKO nations are complex, intergenerational, and deeply connected to the history of this land. Housing. Infrastructure. Economic self-determination. Health and wellness. Education. The preservation of language and culture. None of these can be addressed through a single programme or a single meeting. They require sustained, respectful, Nation-to-Nation engagement — and a federal government that treats Indigenous leadership as partners, not petitioners.
What I carry from these meetings is not just a list of priorities. It is a responsibility. Every conversation I have with First Nations leaders in this riding becomes part of the case I make in Ottawa — for funding, for policy change, for the long-overdue investments that these communities deserve.
To the leaders and members of Sayisi Dene First Nation, Northlands Denesuline, and O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation — and to Grand Chief Settee — thank you for your time, your candour, and your trust. These conversations are not the end. They are the beginning of the work.
Miigwech · Kinana'skomitin · Pidamaya ye · Mahsi cho · Nakurmiik · Merci · Thank you