Throughout history, First Nations rights and privileges has been a highly controversial subject in Canada, and remains a debatable topic in society, even in the present-day. Whether it has been the controversies surrounding the missing and murdered Indigenous women or the funding of First Nation’s education, concrete results have yet to be achieved. Consequently, the above forces have delayed the restorative process for the First Nations People. That said, the Canadian Government, whether it is the Conservatives or the Liberals, have attempted to take an active approach to aid the Aboriginal community in their healing process. While the Conservative government failed to address the concerns of the First Nations community such as launching a public inquiry for the missing and murdered Indigenous women and raising funds to increase the literacy rate within the Aboriginal community, the Liberal government has acted in accordance with the above requests from the First Nations community. Although the Liberal government has agreed to provide proper funding to further Indigenous education and to launch a public inquiry for missing and murdered Indigenous women, the federal government has failed to acknowledge that to achieve a sense of reconciliation, the First Nations community requires complete self-government.
The British North American Act, in 1867, made the federal government responsible for providing and handling the programs and services of the First Nations People. These
As suicide rates rise and thousands of Indigenous women are added to the list of missing or unsolved murder cases, many First Nations people are reaching a tipping point. When the Canadian Government introduced the omnibus Bill C-45 in 2012, First Nations resentment flared even more. This federal budget bill included changes to land management on reserves that diminished the authority of First Nations without their any of their consultations. Unsatisfied with the federal government’s refusal to answer ongoing demands and no longer willing to let their cries of injustice go unheard, they take to the streets and other forms of protest in their Idle
On June 11th, 2008 the prime Minister of Canada released a full apology on behalf of Canadians for the Indian Residential Schools Systems, which were open from the 1870’s to the last one which closed in 1996. The damage done by residential schools ranged vastly and is still something aboriginal people suffer from today. The apology didn’t help the damage that was already done by residential schools or the colonization in general. The aboriginal community needs a new policy, which would help aboriginal people to get out of the poverty they face every day. To do this, Canada needs to invest more in the Aboriginal community. To do this, they need to invest in literacy, education, training, housing, and job creation.
On July 1st of 1867, Ontario became of the founding members of the dominion of Canada, when it joined with Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec in confederation. This created the province of Canada, from the merging of Upper Canada (Ontario), and Lower Canada, (Quebec).
Canada’s treatment to the Aboriginal people and other racial minorities is sadly something that it cannot take pride in, especially after all, Canada is commended globally as an exemplary of cultural variety and has a commendable repute for its liberal anti-racist policy. This essay will prove that today’s government should be held accountable for injustices of the past as first nations people were treated unequal for many years and other immigrants in Canada weren’t recognised and were made to be different and struggle. Canada is recognised for, and prides herself on, the abundant diversity of cultures, ethnic backgrounds, races and beliefs which live inside its borders. Therefore the government should be responsible for ensuring that all its qualities are met with high standard and the Canadian government should facilitate injustices of the past.
Since the colonization of Canada First Nations people have been discriminated against and assimilated into the new culture of Canada through policies created by the government. Policies created had the intentions of improving the Aboriginal people’s standard of living and increasing their opportunities. Mainly in the past hundred years in Canadian Society, policies and government implemented actions such as; Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reserve systems have resulted in extinguishing native culture, teachings, and pride. Policies towards the treatment of Aboriginal Canadians has decreased their opportunities and standard of living because of policies specified previously (Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reservation systems).
Second, Canada’s First Nations’ plight can be improved through self-governance. According to Pocklington, “For several years, Canadian aboriginal leaders have been demanding the recognition of a right of Native self-determination and thereby, for the aboriginal collectivities that choose it a right of self-government” (102). Aboriginal self-governance is a controversial issue in Canada. Before researching the issue I believed that self-governance would deter national unity, after further investigation, I presently believe that the claim for Aboriginal self-governance is justifiable. Although, according to Blakeney, “It will be a real challenge to make effective
First Nation Peoples within Canada have been facing many injustices in their homeland since the dawn of colonization. The most unraveling point to First Nation assimilation was the formation of the consequential Indian Act and residential schools resulting in a stir of adversity. As racist ideologies within Canada developed, upheaval against such treatment was undertaken as First Nation communities fought back against government land claims and eradication of treaty rights. In attempt to make amends, proper compensations from the injustices within residential schools have been released and the key for the future is allowing First Nation self-government. Ideals with the intent of ultimate assimilation have been standardized unto First Nation
Canada has been home to Aboriginals for centuries, who play an imperative role in the history of Canada. Culture and tradition have been brought into this country with the help of millions of Aboriginals. Aboriginals have been known to be very strong supporters of their culture, and heritage and take very high importance towards it. They are very traditional people, and have been looking up to their Ancestral ways for centuries. The treaty relationship between Canada and First Nations has caused a rift and a divide amongst each other for many reasons. Although there has been so much history and tension amidst the two, there is always room for improvement. A lot of things can be done to strive towards a positive relationship, starting with accepting the culture of Aboriginals and realizing that it is something they will not be letting go. Secondly, education can play a big role in helping this situation, and bringing more awareness to the situation starting from a young age. (p. 5) Lastly, The rights and freedoms of all people in the country need to be equal and similar. Certain changes can really help the state of the situation but it is a matter of willing to try and see the change that we all want.
What is the open government partnership? Canada is a major signatory and member of the open government partnership, OGP which was launched in 2011 globally by G8 countries (Italy, Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Russia and France) to offer an international platform for national reformers dedicated to making their governments more open, responsible, and approachable to citizens. Since then, OGP has fully grown from eight countries to the 75 collaborating countries. All told of those countries, government and civil society area unit operating along to progress and implement remorseless open government reforms. There area unit rules, principles and machines in situ that decision upon government actors to justify their actions, bear upon
The Government of Canada does a lot of things. Everything from providing us with transportation to making sure everyone has a say in parliament. This group is made up of citizens that we elect to run this country and provide the citizen with a pretty good quality of life. This is the opinion is held by most Canadians. Unfortunately, some still think that we do not live as good a life here as we could somewhere else. Yes, the Government provides and maintains a high quality of life for its citizens. Social Programs provide assistance financially and physically to people that are in need of it. As Canadians, we have an abundance of freedoms and rights to protect us and our government is run as a democracy, where everyone gets a say.
The impact of colonization on First Nations peoples in Canada is unsurpassable, regarding every aspect of Aboriginal life and well-being. Throughout Canadian history, the government has been aiming to assimilate and annihilate Aboriginal people by way of racist policies, ethnocentric institutions, discriminatory laws and destructive capitalist behaviours. Because of this, Aboriginal people have suffered many losses, both physically and culturally. One of the main perpetrators of enacting this loss is the education system. The education system in Canada has and continues to threaten the relationship First Nations peoples have with the land. The connection First Nations peoples have with the land is crucial to their cultures, traditions, ceremonies and beliefs. Colonization and colonialism jeopardize this relationship and that is what this essay will address.
However, these people are getting cheated over and over by the government. They were manipulated and fooled. Aboriginal people want their way of life to be recognized, their values and their beliefs, rather than the European’s way of life. Each time they sign a treaty they face a disappointment, in other words, they were betrayed by the state. The government of Canada downplayed consistently the significance of Indigenous rights claims and failed to think about the grievances left in the long term. Even to say that the Canadian criminal justice system has abandoned the aboriginal people on a massive scale. It is not only that the justice system has failed Aboriginal people, but also the government was opposed to them. The rights of Indigenous people have been ignored and slowly deprived. This resulted in an injustice towards the Indian bands. People who once ruled their own business independently ended up in poverty and without power. The years go on and these people realize the unfairness about how they were treated by the justice system and the authority. Even if they get their rights back, at the end of the day, whatever rights they may have has no value compared to the state. The authority suppresses their rights. (Asch, M., 2014, Chap. 2)
Aboriginal persons in Canada have been facing oppression ever since colonization began. Even when Canada gained independence from the British Empire, the oppression continued and still goes on today. One major contributing factor to the oppression of Aboriginal people in Canada is the actions taken by the Government. The Government of Canada has in fact mistreated and found to be partaking in wrongdoing when dealing with the Aboriginal population in this country. With this ugly truth being revealed, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had to be tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. (cite)
According to the Parliament of Canada’s website, at the first reading in the House or Senate, propositions for new laws or changes to the ones in place is written down (“Process of Passing a Bill”). From thereon, it becomes a Bill and is printed in order for the first reading to occur (Parliament of Canada). They are, then, given a second reading, which is when most of the parliamentary debate occurs regarding the bills’ ideas (Parliament of Canada). If members of parliament find the idea behind the bill interesting enough, it will be passed and go on to four other stages; the committee stage, the report stage, the third reading and is required to be signed by the head of state, who, in Canada, is known as the Governor General (Parliament of
From the first contact between Aboriginal Peoples and European immigrants to the present day, the aim of Canadian government policy has been to assimilate the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. The attempted forced abandonment of their culture was perpetrated through a variety of strategies including force, aggression and legalities. While historians and politicians may disagree about the motivations of Canadian policy, the impact has been irrefutable. In efforts to create one unified nation, successive governments failed to recognize their destructive actions. In this failure, Canada has come close to shattering the sub-nations and peoples who comprise them. This paper will review the government’s effort to absorb the Indigenous peoples’ culture, their refusal to assimilate, and will also identify potential strategies for future relations.