The planned meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and First Nations leaders was thrown into turmoil Wednesday, after Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence called on the Assembly of First Nations to cancel Friday鈥檚 summit unless the Governor General attends.
A spokesperson for Rideau Hall confirmed on Wednesday that Governor General David Johnston would not attend Friday鈥檚 meeting, as it will primarily be a working meeting that focuses on policy issues.
鈥淎s previously stated, the Governor General will not attend Friday鈥檚 meeting. This has not changed,鈥� said a spokesperson for Johnston.
Following the news, Spence urged the AFN to cancel Friday鈥檚 summit with the federal government. The Attawapiskat Chief said she will not participate in the upcoming meeting unless Johnston attends.
Spence, who has been on a hunger strike for nearly a month, insists that Johnston鈥檚 presence is required because the talks will centre on treaty rights that were first established by the Royal Proclamation of 1793.
鈥淚 will not be attending Friday's meeting with the prime minister, as the Governor General's attendance is integral when discussing inherent and treaty rights,鈥� Spence said. She said she鈥檚 sent a letter to the Queen asking her to force Johnston to attend.
Following Spence鈥檚 demands, AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo abruptly cancelled a press conference where he was expected to outline his goals for Friday鈥檚 meeting.
Atleo said First Nations leaders, who have been working to form concrete proposals to present to the government on Friday, needed more time.
鈥淔irst Nation planning discussions and dialogue continue today. It is essential that this important dialogue continues,鈥� Atleo said in a statement. The news conference has been rescheduled for Thursday.
Atleo even drafted his own letter to the Queen, urging her to intervene and have Johnston attend the meeting.
Other First Nations leaders heeded Spence鈥檚 call on Wednesday.
鈥淪o the prime minister, the Governor General and the Ontario representative have to be at the table or there will be no meeting,鈥� Spence鈥檚 spokesperson Danny Metatawabin warned.
Chief Keeter Corston of the Chapleau Cree First Nation said he supports Spence because of her instrumental role in the Idle No More protest movement.
鈥淲e have to respect how this started. It started with Teresa Spence and Idle No More,鈥� Corston said.
Friday鈥檚 highly-publicized and hard-fought meeting comes after weeks of Idle No More protests. Spence, who launched a liquids-only diet in protest in December, has become the de facto face of the growing aboriginal rights鈥� protest movement.
Spence鈥檚 hunger strike was an effort to secure a face-to-face meeting with both Harper and Johnston.
Harper announced last week that he would meet with First Nations leaders on Jan. 11 as part of a working meeting co-ordinated by the AFN. However, a spokesperson for the Governor General said Tuesday Johnston wouldn鈥檛 attend the meeting, calling into question Spence鈥檚 attendance.
It is not clear if Spence will continue her hunger strike, even if the meeting goes ahead as planned Friday.
Spence has kept a low-profile this week after a critical federal audit of finances of her northern Ontario reserve was released Monday. The independent audit -- ordered last year by the federal government -- highlighted a lack of documentation for tens of millions of dollars in spending.
Spence's spokespeople said the release of the Attawapiskat audit was an attempt to distract the public from the bigger issues at hand.
Meanwhile, opposition MPs said it鈥檚 important for the Governor General to be at Friday鈥檚 meeting because it symbolizes the significance of the relationship between First Nations and the Crown.
鈥淚t鈥檚 to remind people that the treaties originally were signed with the Crown, even before Canada existed. Even before Canada had a Prime Minister,鈥� Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett said during an interview on CTV鈥檚 Power Play Wednesday.
Bennett said the Governor General was at the January 2012 Crown-First Nations Gathering and 鈥渢hat went nowhere.鈥�
鈥淚f we鈥檙e going to reset the relationship, let鈥檚 push reset and have the Governor General and the prime minister actually set out a course that will really work.鈥�
NDP MP Paul Dewar said it is only because of Spence鈥檚 hunger strike and the Idle No More protests that the government agreed to attend Friday鈥檚 meeting.
鈥淢ake no mistake, the government would not have been having this meeting this Friday if there hadn鈥檛 been people going to the streets literally to say 鈥業t鈥檚 not acceptable to have this kind of relationship continue,鈥欌�� he said.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Conservative MP Greg Rickford said the government understands the importance of the Crown relationship with First Nations, but the process has moved to policy discussions including economic development and treaty rights.
Rickford said the government would like to continue to work with First Nations communities on housing strategies. He also said he has great hope for Friday鈥檚 meeting.
The public, meanwhile, appears to be skeptical that Friday鈥檚 meeting will be productive.
A newly-released Angus Reid public opinion poll shows the majority of Canadians don鈥檛 believe the upcoming gathering will be successful in improving the relationship between the country鈥檚 First Nations peoples and the federal government.
The poll, released Wednesday, showed that 55 per cent of more than 1,000 respondents say the meeting will be ineffective, while 43 per cent found that the relationship between the federal government and Aboriginal Peoples has worsened since 2006.
With a report from CTV鈥檚 Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife and files from The Canadian Press
