Can Trudeau deliver on
his First Nations
promises?
Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres.
We have some idea of Trudeau's vision. It is ambitious.
If considered seriously, what are the implications of the
Liberal Party's commitments to Indigenous Peoples?
Nation to nation
Liberal governments have talked a good
game in the past
By Hayden King, for CBC News Posted: Oct 23, 2015 5:06 AM
ET Last Updated: Oct 23, 2015 5:06 AM ET
http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/can-trudeau-deliver-onfirst-nations-promises-1.3284491
First, or at least within the first 100 days, Trudeau has
committed to an inquiry on missing and murdered
indigenous women and girls. He has also promised to
consult in the three months leading up to the inquiry,
and to focus on justice, healing and ending violence.
In this, and seemingly everything else related to First
Nation, Métis and Inuit issues, Trudeau has routinely
stressed a return to nation-to-nation relationships.
While it is not entirely clear what that entails, Trudeau
did, in a speech to chiefs on the eve of the campaign in
July, open by recognizing the importance of the Two
Row Wampum.
National Chief Perry Bellegarde gifts Justin Trudeau with sweetgrass
and a canoe during the annual Assembly of First Nations gathering in
Montreal on July 7, 2015. Trudeau spoke about improving the
relationship between the federal government and aboriginal people.
(Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)
The 42nd Canadian election campaign is finally over. It
was the 18th for First Nations people in the freedom-tovote era.
And, this time, First Nation as well as Métis and Inuit
people did indeed participate.
There were also more First Nation, Métis and Inuit
candidates running for office than ever before and the
greatest number — 10 — ever elected. Perhaps we will
even see more than one cabinet minister. By many
accounts this election also saw the largest turnout of
First Nation, Métis and Inuit voters, so high that some
communities ran out of ballots.
This cardinal treaty in the canon of Haudenosaunee
(Iroquoian) post-contact diplomacy demands mutual
autonomy. As the common reading goes, First Nation
signatories paddle their canoe, and settlers paddle
theirs. Neither shall steer the other's vessel.
In practical terms, nation-to-nation should mean the
closure of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and an
end to interventionist policies and attitudes.
But Trudeau went further during the campaign when he
promised to review all Harper-era legislation on First
Nations and repeal those that contravened Section 35
of the Constitution respecting aboriginal and treaty
rights.
In his discussion with APTN, Trudeau actually proposed
a "complete review" of all laws passed without
consultation.
Something clearly resonated. That something was, at
least in part, Justin Trudeau.
At the least, we should see the end to the previous
government's Indian Act amendments, Transparency
Act, Bill C-51 and so on. A review ought to include the
Indian Act itself and the unilateral 1867 British North
America Act.
Trudeau spoke to the Assembly of First Nations, as well
as participated in APTN's "Virtual Town Hall" broadcast;
he even responded in writing to questions from the
Trudeau has also committed to implementing the
recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission. In at least one speech, he mentioned that
implementation would start with the UN's Declaration
of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
But what he delivered was a 1969 white paper aimed at
assimilation.
At the heart of the declaration is land restitution, Article
26, which stipulates that "Indigenous Peoples have the
right to the lands, territories and resources which they
have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or
acquired."
In 1993, the Jean Chretien Liberals drafted a progressive
Aboriginal platform for their first election, but once
elected completely ignored it and any semblance of
Aboriginal rights.
Accepting the TRC recommendations while adopting UN
declaration would be a package deal sure to improve
the relationship.
In fact, soon after they implemented a strict funding cap
that has resulted in a de facto decrease in resources for
communities every year for the past 24.
Informed consent
In a related matter, the issue of veto power over
resource development affecting indigenous lands also
came up during the campaign.
Trudeau accepted the principle of free, prior and
informed consent, stating "governments grant permits,
communities grant permission."
Though consent will require federal legislation to bypass
regulating agencies and coerce the provinces, which
currently have jurisdiction over natural resources, it
seems possible that First Nation, Métis and Inuit
peoples might finally have this power restored.
In addition to all of the above, Trudeau has also
committed to closing the gap in education, and
advancing housing, health, policing, and child welfare
issues collaboratively through a renewed Kelowna
Accord effort.
He'll clean up dirty water, fix food security issues in the
north, address the root causes of urban homelessness,
restore a rigorous environmental assessment process,
tackle Métis economic and legal concerns, and keep
land conflicts out of the courts. And build the Freedom
Road to Shoal Lake #40.
Note of caution
A brief note of caution is probably appropriate here.
Federal Liberal governments do have a record of
breaking promises when it comes to Indigenous
Peoples.
After the 1967 pro-rights Hawthorne report, Pierre
Trudeau committed to a "just" new direction on Indian
policy.
Despite this history, the First Nation, Métis and Inuit
vote this time was hearty. We are told it mattered, and
so why not expect the dramatic transformation explicit
in Liberal Party commitments?
After all Justin Trudeau has promised real change.