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Good afternoon.

Thank you, National Chief Bellegarde, for that kind introduction.

Let me begin by recognizing that we are on the traditional land of the Algonquin People. We acknowledge them as the past, present, and future caretakers of this land.

This afternoon, let me also join the AFN in honouring the last Mohawk code talker from the Second World War, Veteran Louis Levi Oakes.

And I know that today, we are meeting without Elder Elmer Courchene, a truly tireless leader and advocate. As he battles sickness in Manitoba, let me offer my deepest well wishes to him and to his family.

Elders, youth, veterans, National Chief Bellegarde, members of the AFN executive, and Chiefs-in-Assembly – thank you for your welcome.

It’s always a pleasure to meet with you, and I appreciate the invitation to address you today.

In 2015, just after being sworn-in as Prime Minister, I came to you with a clear promise.

I gave you my word that we would chart a new path forward, and renew the relationship between the Government of Canada and Indigenous Peoples.

That we would work as partners to address the legacies of colonialism, racism, and paternalism that, for far too long, have held your communities back.

Well, three years later, we’re making true progress and walking forward on our journey to reconciliation.

I know that words aren’t enough. Because reconciliation isn’t just about me standing up here and saying that these issues matter.

Reconciliation is about action.

It’s about closing the gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, gaps in housing, in clean water, in education, in good jobs, and in child welfare.

It’s about getting real results.

Results like making sure that people don’t have to sleep in shifts because there simply isn’t enough good housing. By investing to help communities build new houses on reserve, we’re making progress. More than 14,000 homes are under construction right now, or are already done. So what does that actually mean for people?

Well, it means new homes for elders in Kanaka Bar First Nation, and affordable housing for families in Mishkeegogamang Ojibway First Nation. It means new triplexes for the growing community in Lac Seul First Nation. Because everyone, no matter where they live, should have a safe, affordable place to call home.

Getting a roof over people’s heads is a critically important priority – but it isn’t the only issue we’re addressing.

What about the parent who has never been able to bathe their 8-year-old in clean, safe water? When I spent the day at Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, I rode on a truck that delivers water to homes, and listened to people talk about what life is like when you can’t drink from the tap. It was heartbreaking, and as a dad, I can’t imagine trying to explain to my kids that they can’t trust the water that comes out of their taps.

It’s stories like Shoal Lake’s that reaffirm to me our immediate need to act. And we have been hard at work, addressing this unacceptable reality for far too many people across the country. Working in partnership with Indigenous communities, our government has lifted 73 long-term drinking water advisories, everywhere from Slate Falls Nation in Ontario and Williams Lake in B.C., to Pabineau in Quebec. For Shoal Lake, we’re in the design phase for a new water treatment plant. It’s a complex process, so it takes time to lift advisories. That being said, we’re on track to eliminate all advisories by 2021.

But clean water and safe, reliable housing are just the start. Closing the gap also means investing in the next generation, like the youth I met in Pikangikum. It’s no coincidence that the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action are about young people – they are today’s promise for a better tomorrow.

As we implement those Calls to Action, we’re working with First Nations, as partners, to make the changes that have been desperately needed for far too long. Just look at the child welfare system.

There’s no question – it’s a system that needs to be reformed. I’ve been fortunate to learn from leaders like Grand Chief Dumas, who spoke at a town hall when I was in Winnipeg, and Cora Morgan, an incredible advocate who’s reunited literally hundreds of families. From Ashley Bach, a young woman I met, with the Nishnawbe Aski Nation youth council, who speaks so movingly about the challenges of being raised without her community or culture. It’s an issue that the people in this room are bringing into focus for all Canadians. I was at the AFN meeting in May when you passed a resolution calling for change.

Just a few days ago, together, we took a major step forward to address the challenges in the existing child welfare system. Indigenous children should not be forcibly taken away from their homes and their parents – that’s why we’re making it right.

Minister Philpott announced that the Government of Canada will introduce federal child welfare legislation, co-developed in partnership with Indigenous communities and leaders.

This legislation, which we will table in January, will affirm inherent and treaty rights to exercise jurisdiction over children and families. As a result, we’ll put kids first, have fewer children in care, and reunite more families. Indigenous communities must be in the driver’s seat. As parents and as communities, you know what’s best for your kids. It’s time we respected that.

Now, this is just a first step, but we’ve got incredible results for kids that we can build on.

Just take a look at the progress we’ve made in K-12 education. By investing $2.6 billion for education on-reserve, we’re helping every kid get a good start, and learn Indigenous languages in school.

And as a former teacher, I know that for kids to learn, classrooms have to be in good shape. So we’re building new schools where they’re needed, and repairing the ones that are falling apart.

These are life-changing projects: just look at Manitoba. Last month, we announced a much-needed investment in four Northern First Nations so that thousands of students can go to school in their communities.

The new Manitoba First Nations School and the Anishinabek agreement deliver real self-government over education, and show what can happen when we think outside the box and support new school models. Thousands of kids are benefitting – I saw that first-hand when I visited Pikangikum’s Eenochokay Birchstick School and students proudly showed me their work, and even helped teach me a little Ojibwe.

With results like that, it’s clear that we’re on the right track, and not just for schools. Through Jordan’s Principle we’ve approved over 171,000 requests for vital services to help kids get the support they need to thrive. When we formed government, the Principle wasn’t being applied. Today, Keanu, a 17-year-old from Manitoba, has the wheelchair and the physiotherapy he needs, and John, a boy who witnessed an unspeakable tragedy, can get counselling and is now doing great in school.

But we know that we have more work to do for Indigenous children. For residential school survivors. For missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

And better housing, child welfare systems, clean water, and education alone don’t amount to reconciliation. I don’t have to tell you that these individual steps need a solid foundation, a commitment to a new relationship with Indigenous Peoples.

And what does a new relationship mean? Well, it means being guided by recognition of rights, and decolonizing our laws. That’s exactly what we’re doing by overhauling the comprehensive claims and inherent rights policy.

A new relationship means working together on legislation to preserve and protect Indigenous languages, which we’ll introduce in Parliament this January. Which is fitting, because after all, 2019 is the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

It means creating a new fiscal partnership. To be frank, making real change costs money. So we’re rolling out 10-year grants for communities and launching a new fiscal policy for self-governing First Nations, to make sure people can count on stable funding today and for years to come.

It means that in all of our work, whether it’s decolonizing laws, implementing the TRC Calls to Action, preserving language, or changing our fiscal relationship, we’re being led by you. I promised that we would do things differently, because top down solutions not only fail, they’re inherently wrong.

And perhaps most importantly, a new relationship of partnership and respect means rebuilding trust.

Simply put, we must face the moments in Canada’s past when successive federal governments lost the trust of Indigenous Peoples. I will continue to work with you to rebuild that trust.

When I was on the title land of the Tŝilhqot’in Nation to deliver an exoneration of the six chiefs who were wrongly treated as criminals and hanged, Chief Alphonse wrote that we were starting “a different story.”

Earlier this year, the federal government started a different story with the Lubicon Lake Band, too. We settled a historic claim so that they finally receive the land and Treaty benefits to which they’re entitled.

We’re doing the same with the Williams Treaties First Nations, opening a new chapter based on respect for their rights and interests.

And that different story is moving forward a little bit every day across the country when we tackle issues and trauma left unaddressed in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, like the 60s scoop, and day schools. When we work with First Nations to address your very real concerns with the specific claims process.

Together, we have made real and significant progress.

Together, we can – and will – go so much further.

The legacies of colonialism took more than 400 years to create, so change won’t come overnight. But with every positive step forward, we advance a little further along the right path.

Each step forward, each water advisory lifted, each school built, is a sign that we’re on the right track.

In 2015, I promised to rebuild and renew the relationship with Indigenous Peoples. Today, I promise to continue that work.

Miigwetch. Kinanaskomitin.

Mashi cho. Gilakas’la. Tshinashkumitinau.

Thank you.