With Liberal election win, First Nations in N.B. look forward to improved relations – New Brunswick [Video]

Chief Allan Polchies is excited about New Brunswick’s new Liberal provincial government. Polchies, of St. Mary’s First Nation, said he looks forward to meaningful dialogue with premier-designate Susan Holt after years of tense relations with the outgoing Progressive Conservatives under Blaine Higgs.

“This is fantastic, knowing that we’ve got a government that is willing to work with First Nations, have a nation-to-nation relationship and understand the needs of all New Brunswickers, including the Indigenous people, of this beautiful province, the unceded and unsurrendered lands,” he said in an interview shortly after the Liberal victory was confirmed.

He is one of six Wolastoqey Nation chiefs who in 2021 filed a legal action seeking title to a significant part of the province, arguing they never relinquished their lands to the Crown and their treaty rights have not been respected by corporations and governments.

The court case had been a sore point between …