FEDS TO ACCEPT INDIGENOUS PEOPLES EDICT,
Ex-Conservative government refused to sign UN declaration, which sets out slate of rights
OTTAWA — Canada is poised to embrace the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — even as the federal government remains under fire for the dire conditions facing the troubled Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett said Monday that Canada will change its position on the declaration, removing its status as a permanent objector and becoming a full supporter of the document.
Bennett made the comments after Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould called on the United Nations to confront the legacies of colonialism around the world and to help rebuild communities for the world’s indigenous peoples.
The declaration and the work of the United Nations should be a “means to an end and not the end in itself,” Wilson-Raybould told delegates during a speech in the cavernous General Assembly.
“Let us make it a century where nation states and indigenous peoples work in partnership toward true reconciliation that supports strong and healthy indigenous peoples that are in charge of and in control of their own destinies.”
The declaration, which is not considered legally binding, sets out the rights of indigenous peoples around the world, including on issues such as culture and traditions, identity, health, education and language, among others.
Canada was one of four countries — Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. were the others — that voted against the declaration when it was passed in 2007.
The former Conservative government feared the dec- laration could not be reconciled with Canada’s existing legal framework — a concern that still exists, says Tory indigenous affairs critic Cathy McLeod.
Wilson-Raybould said the ultimate goal of the declaration should be to improve the quality of life for indigenous peoples and to help ensure their ways of life are protected and allowed to thrive.
“The declaration recognizes that indigenous peo- ples have both individual and collective rights,” she said.
Bennett is expected to formalize Canada’s position on the declaration today during the UN’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Conditions in Attawapiskat — a poverty-racked First Nation near the western shore of James Bay — remain a source of great concern, especially after a shocking string of suicide attempts prompted Chief Bruce Shisheesh to declare a state of emergency.