Marc Miller shuffled from Crown-Indigenous Relations portfolio

A mainstay of the Trudeau government's Indigenous affairs departments was shuffled from his post on Wednesday, as the prime minister overhauled his cabinet following a tough parliamentary session for the federal Liberals.

Montreal-area MP Marc Miller started working in the Indigenous affairs portfolio in 2018, as parliamentary secretary to then-minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Carolyn Bennett.

He entered cabinet as minister of Indigenous Services in 2019 and took the reins at Crown-Indigenous Relations in 2021. He was sworn in Wednesday as minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

David Pratt, first vice-chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan, said Miller did a "exemplary job" on the file.

He said he hopes the new minister has the same motivation and desire to build meaningful relationships.

"The days of prime ministers and premiers sitting together making decisions about Indigenous Peoples is over and we need to be included in all conversations about our rights, our lands and our children's future," he said.

Métis National Council president Cassidy Caron echoed Pratt's comments and noted that the new minister's previous experiences mean he is already familiar with the files.

Replacing Miller at the department is Scarborough-Rouge Park MP Gary Anandasangaree, who will be a new face at the cabinet table but one already familiar with issues impacting Indigenous peoples.

Anandasangaree sat periodically on the House of Commons Indigenous and Northern affairs committee over the years and became Bennett's parliamentary secretary in 2019. The parliamentary secretary is a middle bench post that involves handling issues in the House of Commons.

Gary Anandasangaree arrives at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday to be sworn in as minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Born in Sri Lanka, Anandasangaree is a lawyer and human rights activist who arrived in Canada in 1983 as a refugee with his mother, according to the biography on his website.

He became parliamentary secretary to the minister of justice in 2021, where harmonizing Canadian laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was a top agenda item.

Miller, a close friend of Trudeau, made history in 2017 when he delivered a speech in the House of Commons entirely in the Kanienʼkéha (Mohawk) language.

While minister of Indigenous Services, Miller was tasked with delivering on Trudeau's election vow to end all long-term, on-reserve drinking water advisories by spring 2021, which the Liberals failed to do, sparking significant criticism.

He raised eyebrows in 2021 when, following his swearing in, he told reporters "it's time to give land back" to Indigenous people, echoing a rallying cry of grassroots activism, and getting mixed reaction.

Meanwhile, Patty Hajdu and Dan Vandal, ministers of Indigenous Services and Northern Affairs respectively, are among the eight ministers who stayed put on Wednesday.

Nunavut MP Lori Idlout, the NDP's critic for Crown-Indigenous Relations, said the government has broken "far too many promises" to Inuit, First Nations and Métis.

Idlout cited ongoing housing crises and infrastructure gaps, in addition to the government's "slow" implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action.

"Another restart on the Crown-Indigenous Relations portfolio must see changes towards improvements," said Idlout.

"Minister Anandasangaree has a monumental task ahead of him."