In 2021, the Canadian government passed Bill C-15 to Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). We are currently in the process of developing an action plan that will attempt to determine the best way to ensure that this legislation produces concrete results – a process that can prove complex.
In an interview, the Federal Minister for Crown Indigenous Relations, Marc Miller, stated that this plan of action should include a game plan that would allow relations to be built between nations outside of Native American racial parameters.
Marc Miller, Secretary of State for Crown Indigenous Relations.
Photo: Radio Canada
The situation is not so simple, however, as a significant portion of indigenous nations across the country are more focused on meeting the basic needs of their members than negotiating complex political issues.
A first principle: Aborigines have the right to self-determination and self-government. This is clearly stated in Section 35 of the 1982 Constitutional Act and is reinforced by the passage of UNDRIP, explains Innu-origin lawyer Nadir André, specializing in indigenous rights law.
However, it is clear that there is a need to assess the possibilities and capacities of different nations, which are different at this point, he explains.
Towards a new kind of agreement?
After Thursday’s Wendake, it’s up to Kitcisakik’s Anishinaabe community to sign a framework agreement with Ottawa, with the aim of continuing on the path of reconciliation and relations between nations, as per the press release accompanying the case.
These agreements are not legally binding and can be considered provisional: they make it possible to identify the issues on which the nation or the Aboriginal community concerned wishes to negotiate in order to reach an agreement.
According to Nadir André, it is interesting to note that the agreements were signed with communities with realities as different as Wendake and Kitcisakik, but it remains to be seen where these agreements will lead concretely.
While Wendake is the only community of the Huron-Wendat Nation to have reservation status by Indian law, Kitcisakik is one of nine Anishinaabe communities in Quebec, and its territory has never been well defined in the eyes of the law. Kitcisakik is also one of the few communities in Quebec without access to electricity and running water.
Most Kitcisakik residents use generators to power their homes.
Photo: Radio Canada / Jean-Michel Cotnoir
In most cases, important claims that lead to modern contracts are negotiated between an entire Aboriginal nation and the governments involved. With the framework agreement in Kitcisakik, Ottawa appears to be taking a different approach, allowing for adaptation to a community’s specificities, explains Mr André.
Be that as it may, despite a change in context in recent years, First Nations suspicions about such agreements remain.
“We are aware that a non-legally binding framework agreement will not convince many people; the subsequent discussions must lead to concrete measures,” emphasized Minister Miller.
The need to build new relationships
First Nations in Canada have been subject to the Indian Act since 1876. One thing led to another: It directed federal policies that led to the forced sedentary life of hundreds of communities across the country.
If we look at examples like some aboriginal communities in northern Ontario where sanctuaries have been established in swamp areas prone to flooding, it means that residents have to be evacuated every year. In addition, there is overcrowding in the apartments, access to drinking water, etc., explains Mr. André.
Nadir André, Innu lawyer specializing in Aboriginal law.
Photo: Radio Canada
“When the calculations are made to see what amounts of money would be required to make the quality of life of all Aboriginal people in Canada comparable to that of other Canadians, there is no federal government, no provincial government, or even any senior official that could come.” With this solution, the costs are exorbitant. »
– A quote from Nadir André, Aboriginal Law Attorney at Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG)
According to studies by the Assembly of First Nations of Canada (AFN), it would take $44 billion over 10 years to end the housing crisis, more than 10 times the amounts earmarked in the 2023 federal budget.
We often talk about how the only way to concretely improve the situation of indigenous communities is to organize a better sharing of royalties on natural resources. Canada is a country of natural resource production and it’s utterly absurd for companies to rake in astronomical profits on the ancestral lands of indigenous communities who don’t even have enough to fund their basic infrastructure, the lawyer insists.
Minister Miller is well aware of the situation. However, he points out that the discussions concerning royalties for the exploitation of natural resources are mainly the responsibility of the provinces.
Even if the federal government showed the best will in the world, the situation could not change without openness on the part of the federal states on certain issues. According to Nadir André, however, the federal government, like the provinces, still has a lot to prove in its relations with Aboriginal people.
Framework agreements like these are still political marketing for the time being. To emerge from the various crises affecting communities, not only must nations reach concrete agreements with Ottawa, but provincial governments must come to the negotiating table so that the impact of those agreements can be expanded. beyond the limits of the reserves, explains Nadir André.
A crucial issue relating to Canada’s political functioning: Aboriginal communities are generally located in areas under federal jurisdiction, but it is the provinces that administer their territories and the natural resources within them.
Without the participation of the provinces in the negotiations on territorial issues, these agreements will not be anywhere near the same scope, emphasizes Mr André.