EXCLUSIVE: Federal indigenous department admits it has no record of contact with BC’s First Nations

VANCOUVER — Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada admits it has no records documenting any ‘points of contact’ with British Columbia’s approximately ‘200-plus First Nations,’ according to a response to an access-to-information request from the Western Standard.The access-to-information request sought basic “summary-level details” on the latest documented interactions with each First Nation in the province. The details requested were simple: the name of the First Nation as recorded federally, the date of the most recent contact, the type of interaction — such as an email, letter, phone call, financial submission or meeting — and any brief description thereof.The department stated in its reply that a search of records under its control found “none responsive” to the request..The access-to-information request from the Western Standard specified that only “summary-level confirmation” was sought and that a simple notation would suffice where no record of contact existed for a particular First Nation.Put simply, an excel spreadsheet showing any type of contact whatsoever — such as a single phone call — and the date of said contact would have sufficed.The federal department, which has an annual budget of nearly $12 billion and over 1,600 full-time employees, did not offer even a partial list of First Nation ‘points of contact’ raising serious questions about basic due diligence and data tracking.In a bygone era, one common form of documented contact — the submission of audited financial statements — was previously required under the Harper-era legislation known as the First Nations Financial Transparency Act..The Trudeau government effectively ended enforcement of those mandatory public financial reporting requirements shortly after taking office in 2015, shifting toward a more “cooperative approach” with First Nations. .The First Nations Financial Transparency Act itself remains on the books but is no longer actively enforced by the federal government..With many First Nations no longer routinely submitting audited financial statements and with one of Ottawa’s two major indigenous departments maintaining no records of contact, it remains unclear whether meaningful communication — or any communication at all — has occurred between many of these communities and the federal government over much of the past decade.This gap in basic data tracking and due diligence is particularly worrisome in British Columbia. Indigenous-related issues, including prolonged uncertainty over title, overlapping claims and consultation processes, have contributed to significant delays and cancellations of major resource and infrastructure projects, leading some business leaders and analysts to describe the province as increasingly uninvestable..Even further complicating matters in British Columbia, where a number of First Nations have very small populations — in some cases only a handful of members — the complete absence of any documented federal interaction raises questions about the extent of CIRNAC’s ongoing engagement with all recognized communities.A review of publicly available records shows that only 69 of British Columbia’s more than 200 recognized First Nations — significantly less than half — have submitted their 2025 audited financial statements. For 2024, the figure stands at 128, or just over half.The lack of self-reporting by BC First Nations and tracking by CIRNAC raises a further, and frankly morbid, possibility that especially small Nations may be receiving funding, or have legal firms representing them in active land claims, despite no longer having any living members — and that CIRNAC would have no reliable way of knowing, given that it maintains no records of interaction with these communities..With a department of this scale and mandate, the lack of even summary records of recent contact suggests potential major weaknesses, inefficiency, and lack of oversight and visibility in how the federal government maintains meaningful, documented relationships with indigenous groups across the province.In August 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the dissolution of the former Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and the creation of two separate departments: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and Indigenous Services Canada. The split took full legal effect in July 2019.Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is now the federal department tasked with “renewing nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown and government-to-government relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.”Its stated purpose is to work to modernize government structures to “support Indigenous self-determination, lead federal efforts in the North, and manage treaty negotiations, modern land claims, specific claims” and related “reconciliation initiatives.”Even by the standards of federal bureaucracy, the findings are difficult to fathom. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada — the department responsible for land claims, treaty negotiations, and the Crown’s duty to consult — has stated that it has no records of any recent contact with any of British Columbia’s roughly 200 First Nations.The Western Standard sought comment from CIRNAC, posing several questions about how the department tracks engagement with First Nations, ensures it is meeting its “duty to consult,” and maintains oversight of smaller communities in the absence of basic contact records.The department did not respond by deadline.

EXCLUSIVE: Federal indigenous department admits it has no record of contact with BC’s First Nations

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