Leaders of several Canadian indigenous organizations gathered in Ottawa on Wednesday to voice their concern at the sunsetting of federal funding for some organizations.
Self-identifying socialist Leah Gazan (New Democratic Party MP) specifically outlined who she thought was most impacted by Canada’s 2026 Budget which sliced some $7B from Indigenous Services Canada and Crown Indigenous relations.
She despaired at what she claimed is the “abhorrent” and “callous” treatment of Canada’s indigenous people generally, before focussing in on others.:
“They provided $0 to deal with the ongoing genocide of MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+. Rates of violence are increasing, and the PM is turning a blind eye.”
In a media statement, a spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty countered by saying the government takes the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls seriously.
“Funding discussions are ongoing and are in no way impacted by the government’s comprehensive expenditure review,” wrote spokesperson Alec Wilson.
He pointed to an interim funding agreement between the federal government and Anderson-Pyrz’s organization and said the government “invited” the group to submit a three-year funding proposal.
Wilson clearly thought discretion the better part of valor and made no attempt to directly address or unpack MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+ and what – if anything – it stands for.
