Canada 's Collective Rights For Aboriginals

Aboriginal self-government is a long standing issue that continues to be a struggle for the First Nations People. To truly understand the scope of Aboriginal self-government within First Nations communities, more effort is needed to understand the legislative system that runs Canada. This issue of self-governance has been very destructive in First Nations communities. After signing the Treaties, First Nations People was stripped of their livelihood and from that point on to abide by the Dominion of Canadas legislative policies. One current issue that would be a perfect example is the Nisga People in British Columbia who is no longer under the protection of the

Canada is a nation of opportunity and freedom. People from all around the world immigrate to Canada to start a new life, to get away from war or poverty. Canada opens their arms to them and accepts them, and gives them money to get them started. But how about those who were here from the very beginning, before anyone else landed in Canada; the ones that are called First Nation people, or Aboriginals? What is the government doing for them? Why are First Nations people suffering the worst in Canada? “55.6% of the poor are aboriginals and a lot of them live in reserves around Canada that Canadian government have put them in. For those who leave the reserves to get a better living the suffer from racism from Canadian society” (“Aboriginal”).

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)

Nobody deserves to be a ‘nobody’: unrecognized and unappreciated for their uniqueness. This is the reason why throughout history, Canada has been working to make sure that the Métis are not ‘nobodies’. Canada has provided enough recognition for Métis culture and rights through existing legislation. Historically, the Canadian government, or Dominion of Canada, has acted upon efforts to protect Métis land through legislation. Furthermore, Métis inherent rights to land, hunting, fishing and autonomy have been met with current and improved legislation. The Métis are now recognized as Aboriginal peoples and share the same rights through Section 35 of the Constitution. These pieces of legislation make it possible

Collective rights are what make Canada different from the other countries and are important to the founding citizens. The First Nations, Metis and Inuit have gone through assimilation and are fighting for their promises from the Canadian government. Francophones and Anglophones were going through their own kind of assimilation and were concerned that they would lose their identity, therefore making Francophone and Anglophones schools in a minority setting to help keep their identity. In conclusion, collective rights have dramatically changed compared to Canadian history and should continue to help support the different cultures and languages around

When Canada was first inhabited by the First Nations people, the land was completely their own. They were free to inhabit and use the land in whichever manner they saw fit. However, since the arrival of the European settlers, the First Nations people have been mistreated in countless ways. They faced many issues throughout history, and are now facing even more serious problems in our modern society like having to endure racism, discrimination and social ridicule. Given what they already have to deal with, the last thing they should have to worry about is the denial of their rights which is a problem that Aboriginals have to contend with as well.

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

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.

The history of Canada is the era of where colonization all began towards aboriginal peoples. Over the past decades, aboriginal peoples have been mistreated and misused by the white-Europeans. They have been oppressed by Canadian society that we are known still by today and continue to live under racism resulting in gender and class oppression. The history of colonialism has been playing a big part in the way of how aboriginal people have been constructed and impacted on how aboriginal people are treated and viewed in Canadian Society. They have been dealing with the struggles, inequality, and discrimination that we have been putting them through for over three centuries, we’ve been also failing them with Canada’s racist policies

Now Aboriginal rights are protected in the Constitution they have the same equal rights as any citizen in Canada. Canada achieved a just society by amending the scars of the collective rights of the Francophones of Canada. In the 1960’s English and French relations were very tense. Provincial governments took the right to speak French away. This led to many conflicts across Canada. When the new Charter of Rights and Freedoms was created it stated that a provincial government could not take away a Francophone’s right to speak their language. The new Charter also included that Francophone’s had the right to send their children to school in either French or English. Canada achieved a just society by relieving French and English tensions. Canada achieved a just society by giving Anglophones collectives rights in Quebec. English Canadians make up the majority of Canada. In Quebec, French Canadian’s have majority. Since they have majority English Canadian’s have collective rights. Before the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, laws in Quebec mostly affected Anglophones. According to Quebec’s Bill 101 which was passed by Parti Quebecois all signs had to be in French, and English citizens in Quebec had to attend French schools

Having the Canadian government postpone hearings on these topics will never resolve the issue and the Aboriginal people will never stop fighting for what they think is there own.

According to Statistic Canada 2011 survey, “aboriginals represent 4.3% of the total Canadian population, about 1,400,685 people”(2011 National Household Survey, n.d.). Aboriginal people have a long history in Canada since the 17th century, but most of them were not a good experience. For example, Indian Act: they were forced to integrate

However, “existing aboriginal and treaty rights” is never clearly defined within the constitution. While the First Nations people of Canada may believe that they have the inherent right to practice as they please, the federal government may disagree, leading to many arguments and the idea that aboriginal people are not being given all that they have a right to.

Over the past years, Canadian courts have repeatedly urged that aboriginal title conflicts should be resolved through negotiation, rather than litigation. The primary reason being that litigation is costly and time-consuming. For example, the decision for the Delgamuukw case took a duration of thirteen years. Furthermore, litigations that deal with the issue of aboriginal rights and title are “generally narrowly focused” and “ultimately leaves the question [posed about] how aboriginal rights and title apply unwarned.” For instance, the courts of Canada repeatedly failed to come up with a clear definition on the legal scope of Aboriginal rights despite the fact that they have several opportunities to do so. The Delgamuuku case clearly illustrates this when the Court “did not define how aboriginal title applied for the First Nations involved.” Instead, the Court came to the conclusion that a new trial was required, which ultimately will be more expensive and take longer.

1 400 685 people identified as aboriginal in 2011 according to statistics Canada. This means that 4.3% of Canada belongs to this collective. A collective is a word used to describe a group as a whole. Thereby collective rights are rights held by a collective/group instead of any one individual. I believe the government does affirm collective rights but only about half of the time because of how they dealt with residential schools, the lubicon cree, and the issues in Attawapiskat.