This summer, Ottawa was host to the Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assembly — and I was honoured to be in the room.

I joined colleagues Minister Gull-Masty, Minister Anandasangaree, and Secretary of State Belanger at the AFN AGA ministerial panel to listen to First Nations leaders from coast to coast to coast. I am grateful to National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak for her leadership, and to the grand chiefs, chiefs, councillors, Elders, youth, and community members who gathered in Ottawa this year.

I want to especially recognise two Manitoba leaders who rose to the mic: Chief David Monias of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, and Brennan Manoakeesick, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak. Both spoke with clarity, conviction, and authority on behalf of their communities — and I am proud that Manitoba’s northern First Nations were heard at the national table.

One of the most significant conversations at the AGA centred on food sovereignty and northern food systems. We talked about strengthening Nutrition North Canada and heard that the Harvesters Support Grant, Food Security Research Grant, and Community Food programmes are succeeding — precisely because they are rooted in local traditions and knowledge systems. That is the model. Federal programmes that are built with Indigenous communities, not handed to them.

For generations, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people have cared for these lands. That truth should shape every decision we make about the future of the North. The AFN AGA is one of the most important forums in Canada for holding governments accountable to that principle — and I left Ottawa more committed than ever to carrying northern Manitoba’s voice into every federal conversation.