Indigenous leaders say they're hopeful Manitoba is finally taking its duty to consult seriously, after the government revealed more details Tuesday about its planned office to approve significant economic development projects.

Premier Wab Kinew said too many government consultations with Indigenous people result in a bitter fight.

"By the time you end up in a courtroom on a big project, you've already lost," Kinew said Tuesday, after his state of the province address at a Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

His proposal is a new office, a Crown-Indigenous corporation, that will be responsible for guiding major economic development and trade corridor projects through the regulatory hurdles.

The big difference is that Indigenous communities will be involved in the approval process fro

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