Selling Indian Act reform

The Indian Act and the reserve system are overdue for substantial reform. If the Conservative government is ready to start, that’s great. But the job would be a lot easier — and more likely to succeed — if that government had a better relationship with First Nations.

In the grand vision statement that was the 2012 budget, the government announced its intention to allow private property ownership on reserves. Under the Indian Act, reserve land belongs to the Crown, and aboriginal people just get to use it. Not only is that racist and imperialist; it also results in a default economic model that’s not very different from a social-housing project.

Many First Nations have opted out of the Indian Act and established their own land codes under the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management, which is at least a step away from colonial dependence. There are some arrangements in place that allow aboriginal people on reserves to get some of the benefits of property ownership. But actual private property — the foundation of a successful economy — is still viewed with skepticism by many chiefs. They fear it could threaten aboriginal control of reserve land.

What Prime Minister Stephen Harper needs is a minister of aboriginal affairs who can do what Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has done in immigrant communities — someone whose unstinting work, enthusiasm and listening skills earn the credibility that makes radical legislative reform possible.

Ottawa Citizen