Here's what Northern leaders thought of Jody Wilson-Raybould's removal from caucus

Some Northern Indigenous leadersare disappointed with Justin Trudeau'sdecision to remove Jody Wilson-Raybould from the Liberal caucus, saying that it will have a negative impact on the government's efforts at reconciliation.

Wilson-Raybould, the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice who has beenat the centre of political drama surrounding a criminal prosecution decision for engineering firm SNC-Lavalin,was ejected from the Liberal caucus Tuesday along with former cabinet minister Jane Philpott.

• Trudeau ejects Wilson-Raybould, Philpott from Liberal caucus

Wilson-Raybould's removal means that Trudeau's cabinet is currently without a minister of Indigenous descent.

"It just says that, right there, Mr. Trudeau, you basically shut us out," said April Martel, the chief of the K'atlo'deecheFirst Nation. "There is no reconciliation. There is no common ground of communication with Aboriginal people when you do this to not only her as a leader, as a woman, but to everybody across Canada, as First Nations people."

"We're trying to build a nation-to-nation relationship with everyone across Canada, and there's going to be no building, because there's no trust there ... that trust is gone. It's been taken from our people."

Nick Sibbeston, a former Liberal senator who retired in late 2017, said that he was "disappointed" to see Wilson-Raybould's removal from cabinet, saying that he thinks she has "a great future."

"I even saw her as a possibility of being a future prime minister," said Sibbeston. "So I'm disappointed, because without a political party ... it's going to be harder for her to eventually achieve her goal of being prominent in politics in Canada."

Sibbeston also said that his disappointment partially stemmed from Wilson-Raybould's prominence among Indigenous politicians in Canada, saying that those in the federal arena are "so few."

"Someone with her skill and experience ... now she's not part of the Liberal party, she's not part of any of the major political parties. I think it's a loss for Canada," he said.

"I'm not unmindful of the way party politics works, so I'm conscious of that. And I appreciate Trudeau's been patient for the last few weeks.

"But I think if he could have just been a little bit more patient, and somehow resolved that matter, and go into the election ... I would have hoped that would have happened."

Bobbie Jo Greenland Morgan, the president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council, echoed Sibbeston's disappointment.

"You have two members of Parliament who happen to be women leaders, and they tell the truth. They stand up for the truth.... and then this is the end. This is the result," she said.

"That's for me, what I really have a problem with. And most of our people in the region who have been messaging me... just generally feel the same way."

Greenland said that the decision was "inconsistent" with promises Trudeau made to the Canadian people, in particular a promise of "a new way of doing things." She encouraged more Indigenous women to get involved in politics, saying the handling of the affair demonstrates a need for diverse voices in leadership.

"This is all the more reason to go for it, to step up, to get in there," she said. "Definitely, you're needed."

Caucuses need to be confidential, says Yukon MP

Yukon MP Larry Bagnell, a member of the Liberal caucus, defended the prime minister's decision on Wednesday, saying that Wilson-Raybould and Philpott's actions lost the trust of those in the party.

"The reason that Parliament actually works in Canada," said Bagnell, "is that... all the backbencher MPs, can speak truth to power, and they can have these confidential conversations with cabinet and the prime minister. And that's the way things really get done."

Bagnellsaid "a vast majority of our members" felt theycould no longer be confident in the confidentiality of those meetings.

Bagnell said that he was "sad" to lose Wilson-Raybould and Philpott from caucus, and acknowledged that the move could send "a bad signal" to Indigenous groups.

However, he encouraged them to look at the "huge milestones" that have been achieved by the government when it comes to Indigenous issues.

"Whether it's the missing and murdered [Indigenous women and girls inquiry], whether it's all the boil water advisories that have been removed, whether it's the billions of dollars that have been added to trying to bring the social determinants of Indigenous people in Canada equal to other Canadians... people realize that all these things are moving towards reconciliation," said Bagnell.

"And one of the things I'm hearing is that they're really worried... they don't want to go backwards. They don't want to lose these as the months and years progress."