Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told First Nations leaders he was “really, really upset” about how the events of a closed meeting unfolded last week. A video of the event appeared on YouTube Monday, showing Trudeau criticizing the Native chiefs for poor time management.
“I am really, really upset about this,” Trudeau said in the video.
“And it wasn’t for me to interrupt the previous speakers. [Chief] Bobby [Cameron], there shouldn’t have been every single person speaking for eight minutes in this meeting. That is not the spirit of reconciliation, of the nation-to-nation relationship we are supposed to have. And I am stuck with an absolute time cap at 9:05.”
Cameron, who represents the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, nonetheless said the meeting was worthwhile even if Trudeau appeared to suggest the chiefs were taking too long with their statements.
“We require more time to discuss the many crises facing our First Nations communities,” Cameron said in a statement on Monday, according to the Canadian Press.
Trudeau privately met with the First Nations reps on Sept. 12 while he was in the midst of a Liberal Party caucus retreat in Saskatoon, Sask.
