A political impasse was broken at the Assembly of First Nations annual assembly in Ottawa on Tuesday only by a sudden haunting and angelic song from Quebec and Labrador Regional Chief Ghislain Picard.
Chiefs were embroiled in a heated debate of a contentious resolution, Support for principles to guide a new First Nations-Crown fiscal relationship, that stalled after nearly 2-hours.
“Just then, Regional Chief Picard stood up, grabbed a mic and began singing the most haunting and beautiful rendition of Everybody Hurts by REM I’ve ever heard,” said Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis First Nation Chief Bob Chamberlin.
“I didn’t even know he could sing.”
The hundreds of Chiefs in attendance were reportedly struck silent by the song for several minutes, even after Picard had finished singing.
“You could hear a pin drop,” said Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day, wiping a single tear from his cheek. “Then the room just erupted into cheers and thundering applause.”
The meeting was then able to get on track and the resolution passed with several amendments before the assembly moved on to other business.
