ANISHINABEK NATION TERRITORY (September 18, 2025) —In response to the announcement for
the new federal budget scheduled to be released on November 4, Anishinabek Nation Grand
Council Chief Linda Debassige says that while the federal government’s commitments made
towards advancing First Nation priorities are appreciated, there remains more work to be done.

“We will remain steadfast in ensuring that these investments translate into meaningful action that
addresses the existing and urgent needs of our First Nations,” states Grand Council Chief
Debassige. “We call for continued collaboration, transparency, accountability, and action to
support our Nations in fostering sustainable development through health, education, community
safety, infrastructure, and economic opportunities. Despite repeated commitments, First Nation
governments continue to face significant gaps in areas such as governance, health, education,
infrastructure, policing, and social services. This underfunding hampers the ability of our First
Nations to serve our Anishinabek Nation citizens effectively and to realize the collective inherent
rights of all Anishinabek Nation people. The Anishinabek Nation recognizes that closing these gaps
requires dedicated, long-term investment strategies that respect our Anishinabek Nation First
Nations’ sovereignty and enable our Nations to build sustainable, safe, and self-reliant
communities.”

The federal government has announced increased defence spending and financial support to
other countries.

“The historical actions by the federal government, coupled with what our First Nations citizens
experience daily while there are investments into other countries or priorities, tell us that these
investments will come at the expense of critical education, policing, social, and infrastructure
funding for First Nations,” says Grand Council Chief Debassige. “The chronic underfunding must be
addressed by ensuring that any resources intended for Anishinabek Nation First Nations reach
them and are not diverted to other competing priorities. Canada has a fiduciary responsibility to
uphold, and we cannot keep getting deprioritized and left behind.”

In last fall’s economic statement, the federal government said that the deficit was due to one-time
costs, including billions related to Indigenous claims playing out in court. The Anishinabek Nation called
this statement utterly ridiculous and can only be harkened back to the colonial mindset of old to
villainize First Nations for rightful claims that have been settled in and out of court settlements and to
illicit and further perpetuate societal animosity towards First Nations.

“The decades of delays in settling claims and adding lands to reserves in Canada’s Additionsto Reserve
policy process have been a complete failure,” states Grand Council Chief Debassige. “In most cases, it
takes well over 30 years to add land to reserve. We have maintained that these delays are
unacceptable to First Nations. These delay tactics are Canada’s colonial economic suppression through
inaction to stifle our economic prosperity. The system is completely broken, and we are calling on this
government to scrap the Additionsto Reserve policy process and develop new processes under this
government’s nation-building mantra of one Canadian economy. This new process would remove the
federal barriers causing these decades of delays and see lands added to First Nations within months,
and would stimulate economic growth across the country. First Nations could then invest in muchneeded housing, economic, and infrastructure development projects.”

The Anishinabek Nation urges the Government of Canada to recognize the critical importance of
investing in First Nations, honouring treaty and legal obligations, and supporting efforts in First
Nation capacity-building, self-determination, community safety, and economic prosperity.
“We seek a budget that prioritizes First Nation investments without sacrificing the well-being of
our people and that aligns with Canada’s commitments under the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and
recommendations, and the Kelowna Accord Implementation Act and its principles,” states Grand
Council Chief Debassige. “As signatories to treaties, Canada has legal and moral obligations to
honour its commitments, ensuring that First Nations are not left behind in this Government’s
nation-building exercise for the Federal Budget 2025.”

The Anishinabek Nation remains dedicated to working with federal partners to achieve lasting
positive change for Anishinabek citizens and future generations.

The Anishinabek Nation is a political advocate for 39 member First Nations across Ontario, representing
approximately 70,000 citizens. The Anishinabek Nation is the oldest political organization in Ontario and
can trace its roots back to the Confederacy of Three Fires, which existed long before European contact.