By Jacqueline St. Pierre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Manitoulin Expositor ONTARIO—On June 21, while communities across the country marked National Indigenous Peoples Day with cultural celebrations, some Indigenous leaders were once again drawing attention to concerns about the ongoing erosion of Indigenous rights through federal and provincial legislation. In an interview, First Nations policy analyst Russell Diabo emphasized that the passage of Bill C-15 in 2021—Canada’s legislation to align federal law with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)—was fundamentally flawed. “In 2021, the Liberal-NDP alliance refused to accept any amendments to Bill C-15 to fix the fatal flaws,” Mr. Diabo said. “That includes amendments proposed by Chief Ross Montour of Kahnawà:ke, representing the AFNQL (Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador). Those were ignored.” Mr. Diabo…
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