SASKATOON

Trudeau ‘upset’ over time management in meeting with FSIN, leaked video shows

Saron Fanel Video Journalist

Published Monday, September 17, 2018 12:57PM CST Last Updated Monday, September 17, 2018 2:40PM CST

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to media prior to heading to lecture hall to take questions from the public at the Health Sciences Building on the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon on Wednesday, January 25, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

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A video posted to YouTube shows a frustrated Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a round-table discussion with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations.

“First of all I want to apologize for the time management here,” Trudeau said in the three-and-a-half minute clip, which appears to have been secretly taped during a meeting with the FSIN at Radisson Hotel last Wednesday. It was posted Sunday by user Russ Diabo.

“The original plan was to have eight people around the table representing everyone else, and able to represent all the perspectives from all the different regions.” Trudeau said.

Trudeau seemingly thought he was meeting with Chief Bobby Cameron and eight other Saskatchewan chiefs. It appears too many speakers attended and spoke for too long, making it difficult to tackle the issues at hand.

An hour was set aside for the meeting.

“The first section took 45 minutes and every single person spoke around the table. That’s not fair. I am really upset about this,” Trudeau said.

“The FSIN is grateful for the meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau, but we require more time to discuss the many crises facing our First Nations communities,” FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said in a news release.

“The frustration in the video is real.”

Cameron agreed there was a time management issue and some chiefs did not have an opportunity to speak.

“The social media clip did not capture the entirety of the meeting and could be construed negatively. That is unfortunate,” Cameron said in a statement.

The video ended with Trudeau saying his ministers will reach out and follow-up on documents given to him and issues that were raised during the meeting.

Prime Minister's Office spokesman Matt Pascuzzo said in a statement to CTV News that Trudeau "was scheduled to meet Nation to Nation with Chief Bobby Cameron and a number of Chiefs from different areas of the province to hear their concerns on behalf of the First Nations in Saskatchewan.

"Unfortunately, we weren't able to get through all the issues that were put forward, but we look forward to subsequent meetings with First Nations Leaders in Saskatchewan and Canada where these concerns can be discussed."