When new Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada unveiled her executive committee, critics were quick to point out that a position appeared to be missing.
No committee member was explicitly tapped for an Indigenous reconciliation role – something the previous administration had in place since 2018.
It’s a role then-councillor Alia Hassan-Cournol most recently held in the Valérie Plante administration.
That’s something Nakuset, the executive director of the Native Women’s Shelter, told CityNews she was “super disappointed” about.
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But a spokesperson for the City of Montreal says Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension Josué Corvil has always had Indigenous reconciliation as part of his mandate, even though it was not made explicitly clear. The spokesperson adds it’s a priority for Corvil.
That responsibility has since been added to his profile on the City of Montreal’s website. He is also responsible for culture, diversity, and inclusion.
“That’s not enough. You are just lumping us into another file,” Nakuset said. “I think that file is huge, which means we will not get very much attention. I think you need someone designated to do this only and that’s not happening. So, I’m hoping that they’ll change their mind and actually assign it to someone else.”
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada (centre) surrounded by her newly unveiled executive committee, Nov. 18, 2025. (Zachary Cheung, CityNews)
Nakuset tells CityNews it’s important to have an executive committee member responsible for Indigenous reconciliation – and nothing else – because there are still “so many issues” that are facing Indigenous people.
“In terms of discrimination, the amount of racism against Indigenous people, we have a hard time still going to the hospital and getting services in education,” she said. “Homelessness is a huge issue. The police, that’s an issue that continues. So, if we are in a place where we are the highest population of the homeless community, we need help now, and for you to just get to us eventually, assign us to someone who already has enough on their plate is not really about reconciliation.”
Nakuset says she is disappointed in the Martinez Ferrada administration, especially in comparison to the years under Plante and Projet Montréal.
“It seems like it’s almost crickets now. There is no plan,” the Indigenous leader said. “There are no meetings or any invitations. You have to understand that there used to be a reconciliation plan from 2020 to 2025. There are no new plans to start a new reconciliation plan and, I have to tell you, we need it.
“As an Indigenous person in the last 10 years with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the fact that only 15 of the 94 have been answered, I’m hoping the city is going to do something more. I know that this mayor had mentioned that she had worked on the TRC previously with the Trudeau Liberals, but that was a failure. Having only accomplished 15 in 10 years, that’s not great. So, I’m hoping that she’ll be able to do better.”
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Nakuset wants the new administration to reach out to members of the Indigenous community and different leadership groups in Montreal.
“And that has not happened,” she said. “I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but I am not a patient person. I’m not going to just sit and go, ‘oh, well, you know, maybe they’ll call us one day.’”
A mandate letter with more details on each executive committee member’s roles will be released next week.
