Mandy Gull-Masty has just made history as the first Indigenous person to take on the role of Canada’s minister of Indigenous Services. She now steps into a position that directly shapes how programs and support are delivered to First Nations, Inuit and Métis people across the country.
A member of the Cree Nation from Waswanipi in northern Quebec, and a former grand chief of Eeyou Istchee, Gull-Masty’s appointment is a milestone for Indigenous representation at the highest levels of federal government.
She takes on a portfolio fraught with deep challenges. Her ministry is responsible for matters like reforming the child welfare system, closing the infrastructure gap and ensuring clean drinking water and equitable services for Indigenous communities — issues that have long been points of contention between Indigenous leaders and the federal government.
"The expectation is very high of myself to ensure that I am being a role model and bringing Indigenous representation and an Indigenous voice to this space and cabinet,” said Gull-Masty.
In an exclusive interview with Canada’s National Observer, Gull-Masty describes how her experience as a recipient of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) programs shapes her decision-making, how Indigenous knowledge informs her climate priorities, the immense pressure and historical significance of her role and her approach to incorporating Indigenous perspectives into federal policy.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
You’ve lived on the receiving end of these systems, and now you’re leading one. How does that experience shape the way you make decisions?
Being on the other side of the table as a recipient of the services that come from their department from two former ministers that I had a really good working relationship with, I can say that I felt supported as a client. I came into joining the Liberal Party because of how good that relationship was with the minister. In terms of ISC itself, I was the one signing the forms, but my staff always said this could be a lot more simple. [There is] a lot of bureaucracy, a lot of different steps to follow.
These are some of the same things I've heard from other chiefs. So, for me, I think it's going to be really what this Mark Carney-led government is looking at: efficiency; offering a quality service; respectful of their culture, respectful of their identity, and that it is in true partnership with them.
As the first Indigenous minister of Indigenous services, you carry many hopes and pressures — from Indigenous communities, government and the public. What is the hardest part of holding that responsibility every day?
The pressure is incredibly high. The pressure is high because I think the expectation is high from those who I will serve.
My focus is really for it to be carried out in a good way. And I have to share that I had one of my first meetings with an Indigenous leader. The comment that I received was, “I never thought I would be sitting across the table from an Indigenous minister ... I never thought I would see the day in my lifetime.”
So, that is really something that is very historic for me, and I want to be sure that I'm representing all my relations well in doing that role.
That first meeting [with the Indigenous leader] went incredibly well, because we shared a commonality: a history of family who went to residential school, that we came from communities; our favorite dish our kookums made us when we went hunting. It was the first time I got to sit with an Indigenous leader, share that, receive feedback … to feel that connection of who we are and our identity. Really, I signalled to them that there is a change that is going to come from this department — but it is also one that is going to be very inclusive of [them].
What is something most Canadians don’t understand about being a federal minister, especially an Indigenous minister?
In terms of Canadians at large, it is not well understood the amount of work and responsibility that you have. You are working seven days a week, 12 hours a day. You need to have the right people around you to support you, and you need people to understand that when you're offering a solution, you need their support in being able to defend them, being able to defend what you're trying to offer them. As an Indigenous minister, I think what people don't understand — and probably even Indigenous people don't understand — is you are serving six per cent of the population. You are serving over 600 communities, 50 different nations, their own culture, their own language, their own identity — and they're all at different stages of relationship with the government. That is a huge learning curve. You're learning to be an MP. You're learning to be a minister. You're learning about your relationships, and you're learning how to have those relationships with a new representative who is of their culture.
You’ve previously described a kind of “trifecta” between yourself, Crown–Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty, and Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand — each of you focusing on different but overlapping parts of Indigenous policy. Can you explain what that actually looks like in practice?
We had a really great meeting earlier this week. We have been helping, guiding, coaching one another through this process of becoming an MP, becoming a minister, sharing our visions. There's a lot of commonality, committing to each other that we will work together; having a standing meeting, ensuring that every quarter we're having a dialogue, representing and having presence with one another.
I think that's really important for people to see how we are serving Indigenous Peoples — from where the future will take them to how we will build them up, serve them, carry them forward and offering them opportunity. We want to build and maximize the time that we have to work together. That's a real privilege.
A lot of people worry that government “consultation” has become more of a checkbox than real listening. What needs to change to make those conversations meaningful?
We received from the prime minister yesterday our mandate letters. We are asked to look at what we’re doing. How can we improve it? Make it more efficient? Modernize it? My priorities are responding to outstanding issues. The big ones are Jordan’s Principle; Child and Family Services. We have a bill we’re pushing through, looking for support, building relationships. It’s not just me at the helm.
Obligation to Indigenous Peoples — it crosses many departments, so I’m helping ministers and caucus members understand how they can support me and how I can support them. Once these steps are done, there will be a clearer way; my goal is to have a document people can read and understand, “how I support what she wants to do as minister?” It starts with relationship-building, listening, reaching out to leadership and Indigenous nations. It’s a lot of work, calls, emails, but you’ll see something soon.
You’re new in the role and I understand you're only getting things started. But what is your broader vision for the next 100 days? When might the public see a clear plan or the document that you just mentioned?
Honestly, you have to give me a little bit of grace and leeway. I can't even give you a timeline. My focus right now is getting to work on time, sleeping enough to do this job well, and responding as quickly as I can, and working to build my staff — that's really what you need to be able to respond. So there's a little bit of a grace period that's needed. But soon. Soon doesn't mean 12 months. Soon means... not two weeks, but pretty soon.
As someone with some leadership experience in environmental work, what climate issue feels urgent to you? How do you plan to advance it in a system that moves slowly?
I think that for me, one of the big priorities that spans across Canada is really incorporating Indigenous knowledge and the relationship with the territory. They are, what do you call that, the canary in the coal mine? They go there daily, understand when water has shifted, when Earth is different, when the forest is acting differently.
That's critical information, not just from one person camping for a weekend, but based on millennia of family, lineage and information being transferred. I think that has a lot of value and should not only complement Western science, but be equated as equally important when doing planning and research.
How do you balance your Indigenous identity with the demands of your ministerial role? Is there a bit of tension in blending the two?
I don't think there's a need to balance it, and I don't think there's a tension. Who you are, who your identity is, is you. You can't turn that off. You're Mandy Gull-Masty, MP, and you have to have a blend of those two things. I don't feel the tension. These are people that I serve now as an MP, but there are people I have relationships with that I identify with.
Sonal Gupta / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer
Comments