00:04:08.780I thought I was going a bit into the lion's den with with the audience, because I imagine
00:04:12.420they were all pretty strong, pretty frustrated, and I didn't know how they'd respond to me,
00:04:16.980but it was all very kind and a warm reception. You made a big impression, I got to say.
00:04:23.420So I don't want to put words in your mouth, but from what I could sense from you is you were
00:04:28.460talking quite a bit about responsible resource use, not blocking such resource use, accountable
00:04:35.000government, private property. You were hitting a lot of buttons there in that crowd. Is that fair
00:04:41.460to say? Like, why did you focus on those topics? I think those are the topics of our time. I think
00:04:47.440we're in a deficit that it's not clear that we're going to be able to get out of. I have an interview
00:04:51.880dropping with the premier on Monday, where he says that the deficit is untenable, and that there
00:04:56.760isn't a clear path back yet to a balanced budget. And so British Columbians are rightly concerned,
00:05:04.060there isn't a track back or a path towards growing our economy out of this problem. That's the best
00:05:10.420path austerity isn't isn't likely the solution over the long term it's growing our economy out
00:05:16.340of this situation and so i think everybody's going to agree on this at the end of the day it's just
00:05:21.300at what pace um people are going to realize that first nations i think broadly speaking are
00:05:26.340realizing that the government has no more money to give why don't they have more money to give
00:05:30.900they've spent it all and they've spent future generations money and so now the question is how
00:05:35.620we get out of this and so if first nations want investments in social housing in resources and
00:05:41.700programming they need a government that has money in the bank account that's run out it's not clear
00:05:47.460how much longer we can sustain this and so i think we're going to see more and more first nations
00:05:53.140switch their tune and realize the need for natural resource development and growth and that's likely
00:05:58.740the best path out of this and again if communities aren't saying that it's unlikely that their first
00:06:04.180nation members aren't feeling that way right they're the ones who are first impacted many of
00:06:08.340them are on social development many of them are on fixed incomes they rely on a lot of social
00:06:13.300programs and resources and when governments are limited on funding that seems to be the thing
00:06:18.420that gets cut over time or just doesn't reach as far as it needs to food banks are being used at
00:06:22.820record rates so those are some of the gaps we're about to see and everybody's going to get on this
00:06:27.700page over time it's just a matter of how long you express concern way back in the day i think when
00:06:34.100of our first interviews we had together you were asking me on your show about things like the debt
00:06:38.580clock right our big truck that shows the big debt on the side of it and they can either do federal
00:06:44.660or provincial since that time the provincial debt has just gone out of control in british
00:06:51.460columbia my colleague or my ctfbc colleague carson binda has been doing a lot of work on this thank
00:06:57.460you for raising the issue of deficits and interest payments and things like that
00:07:02.980is this getting through to like your generation to your community like are more people saying
00:07:08.500hey wait a minute this isn't doable anymore uh it is starting to come through like um i think
00:07:15.620broadly speaking it's coming through i would say and like people don't like when i comment on this
00:07:19.780but it's really the boomer generation that has managed to be so successful economically and the
00:07:25.860question is going to be are they willing to leave anything for the future generations they're they're
00:07:31.140they're such a unique generation because they really are the last generation to benefit from
00:07:36.700a lot of Canada's promises. And now we have multiple generations that are not benefiting
00:07:41.160from those promises. They've got university educations. They did all the things you said
00:07:45.120you were supposed to do. And they can't afford a house and they can't afford a summer home and
00:07:49.560they can't afford to travel. And they are just trying to get by. And so I think that's like the
00:07:55.180larger question is, is the boomer generation willing to look at changing their habits,
00:08:01.120willing to change their expectations on how much value their house has in order for future
00:08:05.380generations to have a shot at the Canadian dream that they were able to live out? And so I see
00:08:11.700that piece. I think over time, members are going to start to see that right now. We're still
00:08:16.000running off of budgets that were pre-approved from 24, 25 and 25, 26 is just starting to kick in now.
00:08:22.720and so as we see this continue over the next couple of years I do think my members are going
00:08:27.460to ask like hey why aren't we doing more why aren't we supporting us more and I'm going to say
00:08:31.140the provincial government and the federal government have said very clearly they don't
00:08:34.100have money and so there's nothing for me to pass along forward there's no grant to apply for that's
00:08:39.760all about to start drying up and then I think it's going to become more real so I think that's
00:08:45.020we're in this waiting game of it's starting to hit I think it's hit a lot of communities already
00:08:49.660but it hasn't hit all of them yet. You were mentioning that you have Premier David Eby on
00:08:54.820your show. You've already got the interview done. Yes. And you said he raised the issue or you
00:09:00.000probably asked him. What did he say about the debt or the deficit? What was the word he used?
00:09:04.400He said that he's aware that it's a real concern and it's a real challenge and that there isn't a
00:09:08.820path back yet. That's almost a scoop, man. That's good. You know, because the first step in
00:09:15.740fixing a problem is, of course, acknowledging that you have one. So that's really important.
00:09:21.500All right. So going forward, then, do you see the path back to a balanced budget and getting out of
00:09:27.760this debt and deficit spiral? Do you see natural resources playing a huge part in that? Like they
00:09:33.700have to cut spending, they have to cut wasteful spending, but at the same time, they need revenue
00:09:37.620coming in. Do you see natural resources as that path forward? I think most communities do. And I
00:09:44.200that's perhaps the tragedy of like first nations messaging that like many individual communities
00:09:49.800that are sorting this out in what i think is is overwhelmingly a good way like the tall tan nation
00:09:55.480they're the ones pushing mining probably the hardest in bc alongside the bc mining council
00:09:59.960right they just signed a deal with the provincial government to start leading mining work within
00:10:04.360the region so they don't have to wait around for the province i think over over a 15 year span
00:10:09.000we're going to look back on that as like first nations unlocked the door to that industry uh we
00:10:14.600don't see that now there's a lot of fear that now that they control it they may slow it down i don't
00:10:19.080think that's what you're going to see i think the more i think the the broadly speaking the
00:10:24.200framework i don't know if you know about the enbridge sunrise expansion project but we have
00:10:28.200like my community signed on to that um other first nation communities are signed on to that we're
00:10:32.760supporting an economic development venture i've met with enbridge i've met with tmx we are trying
00:10:37.400to move in the direction of encouraging more work that's done in a sustainable way that respects
00:10:42.440the community's impact um i i think that's that's what i mentioned on stage broadly speaking we did
00:10:48.120have a problem for a lot of canada's history where the communities directly impacted by something
00:10:53.560like a pipeline did not see investments in restoration in projects to maintain the land
00:11:00.040for the members impacted whether they're just british colombians or canadians or first nations
00:11:04.920where they were seeing the tangible benefit of those projects, where that wasn't always clear
00:11:09.800for them. And I think industry is more aware of that. I do think that DRIPA helped raise awareness
00:11:15.480of that process. And so I do see some like broad stroke changes that I do think are more beneficial
00:11:20.920to those most directly impacted when they see like, oh, this pipe is actually like spilling a
00:11:26.200little bit into this creek or something that those communities are having a response to be supported
00:11:31.160and address those for our national folks uh enbridge this is natural gas correct that you're
00:11:36.360dealing with talking about there and is this one in particular is that the one up highway seven or
00:11:40.760whereabouts is it in relation to to your name oh i know you'll know you'll know low heat when it
00:11:45.880goes over the the river there's that that lead yeah that's uh the red and white pipe that goes
00:11:50.760across the river yeah i always thought it was magical when i was a kid so so they're expanding
00:11:54.840that then yes they're doing the sunrise expansion project so they're doing a looping system uh
00:11:59.480through seabird okay wow okay you touched on and i could i can feel it in the room like i'm from bc
00:12:06.360originally but i'm working out in alberta now but i can feel it like this issue of a question mark
00:12:12.040over private property it's really hanging in the air and you touched on that uh in a very you know
00:12:18.600clear way on the stage did you want to address that now is this making its rounds in your
00:12:24.200community are you being asked in the media about this sort of stuff because a lot of folks are
00:12:28.680asking the question, do I still own my property? What happens if I can't use the capital that's
00:12:34.240in my property? There's a lot of uncertainty. I agree there's uncertainty. It has not been
00:12:39.580helped by the government's response. Broadly speaking, nobody's had their title removed
00:12:45.040or anything of the sort. The Cowichan decision, they were very clear they weren't coming after
00:12:50.600people's private property, that they were trying to have their Aboriginal title recognized by
00:12:56.840government. And so they weren't pushing it. And the recent Musqueam agreement, Chief Wayne Sparrow
00:13:01.660was very clear, he's not coming after people's private property rights. Now, the question around
00:13:06.000the Cowichan decision and Richmond is, is that uncertainty going to bear out in the market where
00:13:12.040people are less willing to purchase properties in the area? And that's, that is a valid and live
00:13:17.040issue, just like how, if there was a natural disaster in the area, that would impact people's
00:13:21.600confidence that that land is worth what people are trying to sell it for. And so that is a real
00:13:26.420issue. And it seems like the province tried to respond with some sort of loan backing guarantee
00:13:30.900process that really didn't quell concerns. It more legitimized people's fears. And so I do I do think
00:13:37.560there's a lot of ways to start to address this and reassure British Columbians. I think it's
00:13:42.180extremely what I told the the premier is it's extremely dangerous to vilify people who are
00:13:48.680afraid, who are concerned. We know there's a cost of living crisis. And so when you start talking
00:13:53.640for almost all of definitely all of my life a lot of Canada's history has been buy a house and
00:13:58.900that's your retirement plan when you start putting that into question when you start flirting with
00:14:03.820the idea that that might not be a good retirement plan anymore that runs a lot of fear into the
00:14:09.100market and people are rightly going to react and we cannot call those people racist we cannot
00:14:14.340demonize those people we have to meet people where they're at on those types of issues and I
00:14:18.860have been concerned that the instinctual reaction by certain First Nation organizations, not First
00:14:25.700Nation communities, First Nation organizations, has been to accuse those people of being racist,
00:14:30.480white supremacist, driven people. And that's just not productive when there is a legitimate fear
00:14:35.540and the government has not responded to completely quell those concerns. So that's my thoughts on
00:14:41.560that. All right. Going forward, only got a couple minutes left, and I really appreciate your time.
00:14:46.180You just spent many hours in traffic going down, back down the Fraser Valley from the conference that's happening here in Vancouver.
00:14:52.020I think they're doing construction in like 18 different sites.
00:14:55.200So going forward, you were talking about being elected by the folks in your community and how that was different than other forms of government.
00:15:05.100I wasn't quite clear on what you meant there, but I heard like the language of accountability in there and being transparent with your people.
00:15:12.160And that really ticked a box for the Taxpayers Federation.
00:15:14.880how is it that you became chief if you don't mind me asking and then also where do you see
00:15:20.660accountability going for First Nations governance because we get phone calls from folks every now
00:15:26.040and then that are having to go all the way to court to try to get you know fiscal documents
00:15:30.640out of their band council and their their leadership in their First Nations areas
00:15:34.180how are things in your neck of the woods for that? So great question broadly speaking one of the
00:15:40.480challenges we have is that election codes were introduced to First Nation communities with not
00:15:45.720a lot of the deep understanding of how a democracy operates. And I think the West and the provincial
00:15:51.300and federal government fall into the same mistake of thinking that the election is the democracy.
00:15:55.820And I don't think those two things are the same at all. I think democracy is reflected in a lot
00:16:00.440of different pieces. So when I ran, we have in our community, a lot of big name families that
00:16:06.360that often get elected and are able to ask their family members for support.
00:16:10.600And I ran on a platform rather than asking my family for support.
00:16:14.640I didn't reach out to any of my family.
00:16:16.200I ran on ideas of bringing economic development, addressing housing,
00:16:20.480addressing the quality of life on reserve, on bringing in more funding
00:16:24.240from the provincial and federal government and developing our economic development
00:23:56.960I hope that I create a model that is replicatable for other First Nation communities that can be passed on for how to get your community out of poverty, how to create economic development and start to share that across Canada and continue to try and build up communities.
00:24:12.200Because the thing I hate is just the idea that people live in the poverty that we experience.
00:24:16.140It shaped us in a good way. But I worry about like I know members who have had kidney disease because of the mold and mildew in their house.
00:24:23.560Like I know the real tangible impacts of poverty. And I want no one in Canada should have to live that way.
00:24:29.720We are a G7 nation. We should be past that. We should have clean drinking water.
00:24:33.440All of these issues are solvable. They're not. We're getting stuck in so many issues that we're forgetting that problems can be fixed and addressed.
00:24:41.180and we can close the chapter on a lot of these.
00:24:43.600And I just want to make sure I'm contributing to solving these issues.
00:24:47.200You know, if you're talking about things like natural resource development,
00:25:37.160So what did you think of Chief Aaron Peet?
00:25:39.700Like I said off the top, he interviewed me on his show many, many years ago.
00:25:44.820And he was asking about our debt clock, which is our huge truck that we have a big jumbo screen on.
00:25:50.400And we show provincial and national debts on it.
00:25:53.200And he was intrigued by the level of spending and how important it was to make those numbers start going down because we're just indebting future generations.
00:26:03.040He was also really interested in hearing about natural resource development, where government gets out of the way and lets businesses pay for things instead of taxpayers pay for things.
00:26:13.360And then he basically said all those similar things up on stage now in Vancouver.