Kwey Kwey, Good afternoon everyone.
My name is Greg Sarazin and I am the Chief of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation.
I welcome all of you here today on the unceded, and unsurrendered traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation.
The lands we are now on have belonged to the Algonquin Nation since time immemorial, and it continues to
carry our stories, our responsibilities, and our rights. This place, where the mighty Kichesippi, the Ottawa River is met by the Gatineau River flowing in from the North, and the Rideau River flowing from the south has always been the meeting place of the Algonquin nation.
For millennia, we have welcomed other Nations here to conduct trade and form alliances. Today we gather in solidarity, on our Algonquin lands, to raise our voices against federal government actions, bill 5, a bill that threatens not just the environment, but our very sovereignty. This legislation would open the floodgates for unchecked development, ignoring our sacred duty to the land and sidestepping the legal and moral

obligation of the Crown to consult and accommodate our Nations.
Make no mistake — fast-tracking projects without our consent is not progress. It is a step backward into a pattern we have seen too many times before.
But look around. Our voices, united across Nations, are strong. Today we send a message: these are not empty
lands, and we are not invisible. We are here. We are watching. And we will not stand by while our inherent rights are undermined.
To all the youth, Elders, leaders, and land defenders here — you are the heartbeat of our Nations. Your courage honours our ancestors and protects the generations yet to come.
We stand together today not in anger, but in purpose. For the land. For our rights. For our future.

Miigwetch. Thank you.

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It is now my honour to introduce
Algonquin Grand Chiefs, Savanna
McGregor, and Lisa Robinson to say a
few words.