'We have to be wary': Checkup callers cautiously optimistic about Indigenous rights reforms
by Jason Vermes
Given the government's current track record with Canada-First Nations relations, caller Kelly Patrick isn't convinced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will pass a recently announced Indigenous legal framework by next year.
"I think that we have to be wary," she told Cross Country Checkup host Duncan McCue on Sunday. "There are quite a few things that they have not been able to carry out."
She pointed to the prime minister's about-face on electoral reform — a key election campaign promise in 2014 — as an example. She also questioned his commitment to the inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women.
"Mr. Trudeau never got in front of the inquiry and there's probably a good reason – because they knew it was never a win-win," said Patrick.
- CBC News: Trudeau promises new legal framework for Indigenous people
- CBC News: First Nations leaders react with caution to Justin Trudeau's Indigenous rights plan
Responding to the episode's question, "Is the Trudeau government succeeding in improving the lives of Indigenous people?" callers expressed both concern and optimism. In particular, there was uncertainty surrounding the Liberal government's expected Indigenous rights reform.
Trudeau has said that he expects the framework to be finished before next year's election, but there are few details and no concrete timeline.
A good first move, Patrick suggested, would be to scrap the long-standing Indian Act and turn to the advice of Indigenous scholars and experts.
"[They] now have a full foot in what is best for First Nations people," she said.
Revamp the department
It's an idea that Karen Wickett would like to see go further. Calling from North Bay, Ont., she told McCue that what's really needed is an overhaul of the Department of Northern and Indigenous Affairs.
"There's a total disconnect between [that department] and what's actually happening on the ground," she said.
For a decade, Wickett taught in northern Ontario at a school that was "totally impractical." The school's location has temperatures that dip below -40 C.
"It was sprawled out into three different directions. There were multiple entrances. Lots of windows," she described. "It should have been built as [a] two- or three- storey building to conserve heat and to reduce the amount of cold air coming in and out."
In response, McCue pointed to drinking water projects in First Nations that didn't have appropriate communication from Indigenous Affairs, leading to problems.
"The whole situation was just terrible," said Wickett.
Focus on Indigenous communities
For caller Murray Whiteknife in Calgary, the solution is simpler: He wants the government to reevaluate treaties.
"I think that the conversation needs to start at just the basic fundamentals of what were the treaties when they were signed and how are they going to abide by them and take those into consideration?" he said.
Whiteknife believes that attempting to "please" both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities is a barrier. Rather than complete projects — he also points to problems with the MMIW inquiry — Whiteknife says that the government tries too hard to appeal to both populations.
"When are we actually going to start seeing action instead of lip service to both sides?" he asked.
The division, Whiteknife argued, is leading to an increase in racist rhetoric. A business owner, he offers workshops to unify improve Indigenous relationships in workplaces, including respect for Indigenous traditions like smudging — a ritual that includes the burning of herbs such as sweetgrass and sage.
"We are teaching non-Aboriginal companies about the protocols of First Nations and how to respect offering the sweetgrass when you go into meetings and stuff like that," he told McCue.
Renegotiate the land claims
Ending the show, Iqaluit's Chad Anawak said it ultimately comes down to better relations between the federal government and Indigenous nations.
"When the government announced that they were going to deal with First Nations, Inuit and Métis on a nation-to-nation basis, then they really have to deal with them on nation-to-nation basis," he told McCue.
Land claims, said Anawak, should be approached in a more respectful way. The federal government, he said, should consider renegotiated some claims with a nation-to-nation perspective.
"Maybe the government has to revisit some of the agreements that have been reached in order to make First Nations, Inuit and Métis feel that they're really being dealt with on a nation-to-nation basis," Anawak told McCue.
- CBC News: Liberal government backs bill that demands full implementation of UN Indigenous rights declaration
Moving forward, Anawak would also like to see the federal government acknowledge Indigenous leadership.
"We're all operating under the Western-style of governments in the communities, in the territories, in the provinces," he said.
"There has to be the recognition that we've set up the way governments are set up in order to make us feel that we who we are the first people of this land."
To hear what Canadians had to say on how the federal government is doing on Indigenous rights, download our podcast or click 'Listen' above to play the full episode.