Nothing has really changed between Canada and indigenous peoples, the bar is where it was

There is speculation in Canada about whether or not the Trudeau Liberal government has set the bar too high when it comes to aboriginal policy objectives. In a mandate letter to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has set an overarching goal to renew the relationship between Canada and indigenous peoples. Trudeau has stated that this renewal must be based in a nation-to-nation relationship with recognition of rights. But, the Canadian Constitution may stand in the way of true nation-to-nation dialogue and prevent this Liberal majority government from ever reaching the bar, no matter how high or low it is. Indigenous rights in Canada are enshrined in the Canadian Constitution within Sec. 35, however, within the Constitution, Canada has reserved its right to define who indigenous peoples are, and set limits on rights that may be acquired through negotiations and grants by Canada. This is a basic contravention of what is called for within the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which states that indigenous peoples have a right of self-determination. Canada is beginning a dialogue of hope, shackled by the harsh reality of Canada’s legal fiction of sovereignty. Sec. 35 of the Constitution states: (1) The existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed. (2) In this act, "aboriginal peoples of Canada" includes the Indian, Inuit, and Métis peoples of Canada. (3) For greater certainty, in subsection (1) "treaty rights" includes rights that now exist by way of land claims agreements or may be so acquired. Canada was created with an assumption that it had a right to define indigenous nations as Indians, Inuit, and Métis. The Constitution makes no mention of the actual nations who existed prior to Confederation. Instead of naming the indigenous nations, Canada has taken the definition of aboriginal peoples as derived from the racist and outdated Indian Act and the provisions of the act to define who is who. It is the Indian Act, which was created by Canada which stipulates who can be registered as an Indian. The Indian Act came to be developed over time through separate pieces of colonial legislation regarding aboriginal peoples across Canada such as the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869. In 1876, these acts were consolidated as the Indian Act. The Indian Act registry is used to define First Nations. The Indian Act is used to establish First Nation band councils and band membership and it is from these that political tribal organizations such as the Assembly of First Nations are derived. These things do not a nation make. In a move to begin nation-to-nation dialogue, the first step should be policy geared towards self-determination and self-identification of the original nations. Resources must be made available to invest in self-determination. At some point constitutional reform will be required. Next year will mark the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation and the 141st anniversary of the Indian Act. This milestone is a call to us all to reflect on the history and future of Canada. Canadians postulate that Canada is sovereign. But yet, Canada bases its territorial integrity and assertion of sovereignty over indigenous (First) Nations by continuing to rely on the racist and outdated notions of Terra Nullius and the Doctrine of Discovery which provide the dark shadowy basis for the Indian Act. Given the tragic state of despair reported on by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), the states of emergency declared in many First Nation communities across Canada, the abject poverty evident in communities across the country, we are being forced to examine the big underlying questions of how we got here. These very questions are being discussed in various institutions across the country. Earlier this year, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) adopted a resolution at its national convention to repudiate the “Doctrine of Discovery” because this doctrine encourages patterns of domination and oppression that continue to afflict indigenous peoples today. Indigenous peoples are threatened by the continuing effects of colonization and national policies, regulations and laws that attempt to force them to assimilate into the culture of the dominant Canadian society. The ELCIC has called on the minister of indigenous affairs to also repudiate these racist and secular foundations to the Canadian claims of sovereignty. The Doctrine of Discovery continues to inform national policies, regulations and laws. The TRC has called upon governments, and, “all religious denominations and faith groups who have not already done so to repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous lands and peoples, such as the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius." Until the federal government repudiates these racist foundations, Canada cannot ever achieve true reconciliation and begin nation-to-nation dialogue. Given that the minister recently announced at the UN’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues that Canada will implement UNDRIP, “in accordance with the Canadian Constitution," nothing has really changed and the bar is where it was. Lorraine Rekmans is the Green Party indigenous affairs critic. The Hill Times

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Nothing has really changed between Canada and indigenous peoples, the bar is where it was

Until the federal government repudiates these racist foundations, Canada cannot ever achieve true reconciliation and begin nation-to-nation dialogue.

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