Time for the Indian Act to go

Re: Feds consider national holiday for Truth and Reconciliation, Aug. 16

It’s difficult to say what a national Day of Reconciliation would accomplish, other than more virtue signalling by our patronizing prime minister.

Something far more meaningful could be accomplished by lifting the yoke that enables the dreadful conditions that exist on far too many reserves: the apartheid-based Indian Act that holds Aboriginal Canadians in thrall.

Many of Canada’s Aboriginal people have already spoken with their feet and moved off the dead-end reserves to find opportunities elsewhere, while retaining their proud heritage. A fortunate few, whose bands are endowed with enlightened leadership and available opportunities, have thrived, but far too many remain distant from resources, with little hope of a better life.

First, the right to own property should be enshrined in the constitution for all Canadians. If Aboriginal citizens could own their land, they would be better able to control their destiny. The power of chiefs and councils to rule by controlling housing and other benefits would be diminished.

The second necessary step would be to unwind the Indian Act, so that all of Canada’s Aboriginal people could take their rightful place in this wonderful nation.

It would not be easy, and it could not happen overnight. The fat cat chiefs and councils who live in relative luxury while most of their people live in poverty, the entrenched Indian Affairs bureaucracy, and the lawyers who feed off the current deplorable state of affairs would fight tooth and nail against any change.

It would require national leadership, however. Not more whingeing apologies. Edward Sager, Cochrane, Alta.