(Ottawa) The current Liberal federal government is trying to distance itself from the one who allegedly colluded with Australia in the early 2000s to weaken the United Nations text on indigenous peoples.
Posted at 4:43 p.m.
Newly released Australian cabinet documents from 2003 show the two countries worked together to propose a softer version of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The idea for a more state-friendly version, as the documents show, arose from the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien and was supported at the time by Australia.
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu says every Liberal government is different, but every act of colonization and attack on Indigenous rights leaves a “stain” on the country.
The documents, first published by The Guardian newspaper, show the two governments worked in secret to weaken the declaration, despite knowing their efforts would face strong indigenous opposition.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was amended before it was adopted by the United Nations in 2007, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government passed legislation in 2021 to bring it into effect.