Restoring relations with Indigenous peoples

Canada has faced increasing international scrutiny for its treatment of Indigenous peoples. The Liberal government promises change, but historic and ongoing injustices present significant challenges.

OTTAWA – Bernie Farber says he’s seen some terrible things in his lifetime, but nothing compares to what he saw inside a building on the Wabaseemoong (Whitedog) reserve.

Farber, a former social worker with the Children’s Aid Society, visited the Ojibway community with former prime minister Paul Martin in 2009.

At the time, many young people were sniffing paint lacquer to cope with the stress associated with extreme poverty, says Farber.

The lacquer house was a safe space on the reserve for youth to come down after inhaling the toxic fumes, he explains.

“When we went in, there were 10 or 12 young kids, maybe seven to 14, on urine-soaked mattresses. The air was so stifled you could hardly breathe. These kids were just laying there, strung out completely,” says Farber.

“At one point, Paul Martin, on his hands and knees, cradled the head of a young girl and just stroked it.”

Farber says this image never left his mind and it speaks to the issue of systemic inequality experienced on reserves across Canada.

Many communities still live under boil water advisories and lack access to adequate health care and education. This is both a national crime and an international disgrace, says Farber.

“That’s what I call third-world conditions. That should not be happening in this country, and yet it is every day to this very day,” he adds.

Canada has faced increasing international scrutiny for its treatment of Indigenous peoples. In a report released in June 2015, the United Nations harshly criticized Canada for its “inadequate” response to violence against Indigenous women and for systematically violating treaty rights.

Previously, Canada was internationally condemned for being one of only four countries to initially reject the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Canada has since endorsed this agreement, but former prime minister Stephen Harper stated the declaration was simply “an aspirational document.”

Carolyn Bennett, the newly appointed Indigenous and Northern Affairs minister, says the Liberal government will:

• Revamp Canada’s commitment to the declaration
• Launch a $40-million public inquiry into violence committed against Indigenous women
• Implement recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Canada’s wall of shame

“Today, we have a national social disaster that is an absolute international embarrassment,” says Robert Laboucane, a Metis businessman.

Laboucane, 72, educates hundreds of Canadians, including federal government officials, about Canada’s historic and ongoing mistreatment of Indigenous peoples.

Laboucane says Canada’s history disturbs the people he teaches and shocks the international community.

“Countries like Germany, Austria and Sweden, they ask, ‘what the hell is wrong with the Canadian people, why can’t they see this? Why are they so apathetic’,” says Laboucane.

“The international community is just completely baffled by this. I mean, apartheid disappeared in South Africa 25 years ago, but we’ve still got it here in Canada,” says Laboucane.

But Farber says the problem isn’t unique to Canada. He says there are few positive examples of strategies other countries employed to respect the rights of Indigenous people that Canada could try to emulate.

“In Australia, the Aborigines were treated in the exact same way, residential school systems, the whole thing. Perhaps we can take a lesson from New Zealand,” says Farber.

While New Zealand’s relationship with the Maori is not perfect, the government has reserved seats in the House of Representatives specifically for the Maori since 1867.

The Maori make up a large percentage of New Zealand’s total population so regulating federal representation makes sense, says Debbie Reid, executive director of the Indigenous branch of the Institute on Governance.

Setting a similar quota in Canada could be problematic because there are so many Indigenous nations with very different attitudes towards the Canadian state, says Reid.

“It’s less about numbers and more about structures,” says Reid, adding that the government could instead create a standing committee on Indigenous issues headed by an Indigenous MP.

Pathways to improvement

From the residential school system to the current level of violence committed against Indigenous women, Canada’s track record is abysmal, says Laboucane.

It is clear the government must restore relations with Indigenous peoples, but there is no singular solution, says Reid.

Day-to-day social issues including access to education, health care and housing need localized approaches, she adds.

The government must support solutions created organically within Indigenous communities, says Reid. This involves engaging and communicating with Indigenous peoples about policies and programs, instead of simply increasing funding.

“Please stop throwing money at us,” says Reid.

“Canadians don’t have an appetite to see more money going into what they see as a broken system, and what a lot of Indigenous communities see as a broken system.”

Missing and murdered Indigenous women

Drummers close vigil for missing and murdered Indigenous women hosted at Parliament Hill on Nov. 3. [Photo ©Rachel Lindgren]

Bridget Tolley says she doesn’t know what it will take for the government to change its attitude towards Indigenous people, particularly with respect to the shocking levels of violence Indigenous women experience in Canada.

Indigenous women are almost three times more likely to be victims of a violent crime than non-Indigenous women, according to Statistics Canada.

For Tolley, this is not just a national problem. It’s also part of her personal mission.

“My mother was struck and killed by the police in 2001. I’ve been out here looking for justice for 14 years now,” says Tolley.

Her mother, Gladys Tolley, was a 61-year-old Algonquin woman who was struck and killed by a Sûreté du Québec police cruiser on the highway near the Kitigan Zibi reserve where she lived.

Bridget Tolley (left) and Claudette Commanda (right) attended the vigil. Tolley holds a photo of her mother Gladys Tolley who was struck and killed by a police cruiser in 2001. [Photo ©Rachel Lindgren]

Tolley says she had to hire a lawyer at her own expense, and it still took 18 months just to get the police report from her mother’s case.

“The police are a big part of the problem, so it’s just got to stop. Everybody’s important here no matter what colour you are. A woman is a woman,” says Tolley.

The Liberals have now started a consultation process for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women. In a recent interview with the Globe and Mail, Bennett said the government plans to launch the inquiry by the summer.

“After 25 years, I think we should be doing something big. A national inquiry will probably take years and years. We need action now,” says Tolley.

Tolley also says it’s important for the government to allow Indigenous families and survivors to find their own solutions.

Reid agrees, she says policies at the federal, provincial and municipal levels must reflect a nation-to-nation relationship, adding that paternalistic attitudes towards Indigenous peoples must end.

“Previous governments have said ‘now we have the ultimate answer’ but the ‘we’ never included Indigenous people,” says Reid.

Looking ahead

Laboucane says he’s hoping Canada’s new Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould will review Canada’s violations of treaty rights and uphold Indigenous rights guaranteed by the Canadian Constitution.

“There are many positive expectations, but for now we wait and watch,” says Laboucane.

All eyes are on Canada as it enters a new chapter in its relationship with Indigenous peoples, but Laboucane says any firm progress will not happen over night.

“We’re dealing with a massive monster,” says Laboucane.

“The only way we’re going to fix it is to take one small, digestible bite at a time.”

By the numbers

Data visualization by Deqa Ahmed and Rachel Lindgren

Header photo ©Rachel Lindgren