At this time last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was campaigning on promises of a renewed nation-to-nation relationship with Canada's Indigenous peoples, but the federal government's recent approval of the Pacific NorthWest LNG project has critics questioning his commitment to those promises. "[But] my feelings as a First Nations person were that we were really slapped in the face by the announcement." An artist's rendering of the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG plant on Lelu Island, near Prince Rupert, B.C. (Pacific NorthWest LNG)Approval confirms suspicionsThe federal government has defended its approval of the project by saying the groundwork was laid by the previous government lead by Stephen Harper. But Sheryl Lightfoot, the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous rights and politics and a professor at UBC, said that argument is damaging the cautious optimism Indigenous voters initially had for the Trudeau government.

Source: CBC News October 03, 2016 18:00 UTC