Thread by @HoCStaffer

I remember about a year ago Liberal Twitter was all ablaze because some AFN delegates turn their back on Poilievre.

Now they're heckling Trudeau.

The one obvious difference is that one has had ten years to do something, whereas the other isn't PM yet.

The reality though is 🧵

https://twitter.com/harry__faulkner/status/1864718372912378015

There are 600+ reserves in this country. With each Chief plus whomever else, the National AFN conference is a big one.

Some Chiefs are hugely pro-Conservative (usually from the more successful reserves), some are far-left NDP, but I would estimate most are (unenthusiastically) Liberals.

What they all generally share - no matter which party they support or who is in power - are the desires for more money and less interference from Ottawa and a historical distrust of the federal govt.

So put anyone from Ottawa on that stage and you're almost certainly going to get some boos.

Doesn't matter who it is. So the gotcha stuff with this is kinda silly. I mean, it's fun to point it out when it is Trudeau because his "there is no relationship more important" mantra is so contradictory to his record.

But genuinely satisfying the AFN is an impossible quest, just like satisfying all premiers.

It's always easy to find a detractor or a heckler to quote.

Remember, the 600+ reserves (and comprehensive claims and self-govts) are far different from one another.

Some are very wealthy and successful. You'll find a number of them in the BC interior, Alberta, a few in Ontario and Quebec, Millbrook jumps out in Nova Scotia, as well as some in the North who partnered with mining companies to develop mines in their claims areas or even on their lands.

There are some that are desperately poor and filled with all sorts of health, addictions, and criminal problems.

You can find these ones everywhere, but I would say they are mostly concentrated in northern Manitoba and northern Ontario. (I welcome feedback on this).

Many fall in between the extremes.

To satisfy the needs of this diverse range of communities is like trying to design a one-size-fits-all policy that works equally effectively in Thunder Bay as it does Toronto. Sure, they're both cities in the same province. Some similarities exist, but differences are greater.

Add to this differences in political allegiances, attitudes, and frustrations due to inaction (perceived or not) and you'll get stuff like this.

I haven't seen footage, but I have no doubt media tried to find whoever heckled and interview them.

They did last year with Poilievre.

It's free airtime to lay out the grievances of your community.

Then you can go back and show everyone that you gave _________ shit!

Anyway, First Nations are all not the same. They shouldn't be lumped together as wanting the same thing. And certainly don't lump them in with Métis or Inuit, who are both equally diverse peoples who don't fit into one mold. /end