Carney will gather with premiers in Muskoka before heading north to meet with Inuit

Carney will gather with premiers in Muskoka before heading north to meet with Inuit leaders.


This week in federal politics, Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to meet with provincial and territorial leaders in Huntsville, Ont., for their annual summer summit. This comes as the deadline for finalizing a trade deal with the U.S. approaches, which was originally set for the end of July but was disrupted by President Donald Trump's surprise announcement of potential tariffs on Canadian goods. The summit will likely cover various topics, including trade negotiations, the impact of tariffs on industries like steel and aluminum, interprovincial trade barriers, and infrastructure projects. The agenda for the first ministers' meeting includes discussions on emergency management, energy security, sovereignty, health, and public safety, as well as legislative reforms to the bail system.

After the summit, Carney will travel to Inuvik to meet with the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee to discuss the proposed law aiming to expedite the approval process for projects deemed in the national interest. This comes on the heels of a meeting with First Nations leaders that ended with mixed feelings about the government's response to their concerns. In other federal-Indigenous relations, Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin will be in Yellowknife to announce a significant Indigenous-led land conservation project, and Health Minister Marjorie Michel will be in Fredericton to discuss efforts to combat the substance use and overdose crisis in the Atlantic Region, with a focus on providing funding for a new overnight outreach service.

The Council of the Federation summit, chaired by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, will also include meetings with Indigenous leaders, though Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) has declined to participate due to concerns over the inclusion of organizations claiming to represent Inuit interests without proper authority. The week's events underscore the ongoing challenges in Canada's federal-provincial-Indigenous dynamics, especially with critical issues such as trade and environmental conservation on the line.

Source@ National post