N.B. government employees ordered not to make First Nations title acknowledgements at events

New Brunswick provincial employees are no longer allowed to make territorial or title acknowledgements in reference to First Nations lands, Attorney General Ted Flemming said Thursday in a memo provoked by legal actions against the government involving Indigenous rights and land title.

Instead, employees must only use an "ancestral acknowledgement" approved by the provincial government's protocol office, said the memo.

In recent years, title acknowledgements have become a regular practice by universities, municipalities and government officials across Canada at the beginning of public events and ceremonies.

In New Brunswick, they typically recognize the Wolastoqiyik, Mi'kmaq or Peskotomuhkati, depending on where the acknowledgement is being made, and they indicate an event is taking place on unceded territory.

"As you may be aware, the Government of New Brunswick (GNB) is currently involved in a number of legal actions which have been initiated by certain First Nations against the province, including a claim to ownership and title to over 60% of the Province," said Flemming's leaked memo that was later verified by a provincial spokesperson.

"As a result of this litigation, legal counsel for GNB and the Office of the Attorney General has advised that GNB employees may not make or issue territorial or title acknowledgements.

"This includes the use of territorial acknowledgements at meetings and events, in documents, and in email signatures."