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Trudeau promises new legal framework to guarantee indigenous rights

Thursday, 15 February 2018 11:10 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 15 February 2018 11:10 AM ]

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 3, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is drafting legislation to create a legal framework aimed at preserving the rights of aboriginals in all government decisions.

Trudeau made the announcement in a speech at the House of Commons on Wednesday, saying that the planned legislation would ensure “rigorous, full and meaningful” implementation of treaties and other agreements and could establish new ways to resolve disputes with indigenous people.

The Canadian premier censured past governments for failing to do enough to protect the rights of aboriginals, noting that the new legal framework would ensure the constitution is the starting point for such matters as resource development, self-governance, land rights and social issues.

“We need to get to a place where indigenous peoples in Canada are in control of their own destiny, making their own decisions about their future,” Trudeau said. "Going forward, recognition of rights will guide all government relations with indigenous peoples."

Trudeau said that reconsidering aboriginal rights could pave the way for indigenous peoples to pursue greater self-determination with the goal of addressing entrenched economic and social problems in Canada's indigenous communities.

The bill is planned to be introduced this year and implemented before the 2019 federal election, with the Canadian government vowing to consult with indigenous groups as well as provinces, industry and the public as it prepares the framework.

Canadian aboriginals shout slogans and bang drums in a protest rally in Montreal, Canada, on February 16, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Back in September, the Canadian prime minister expressed regret about the abusive treatment of the indigenous peoples of Canada throughout the country’s history and promised to rectify the historical wrongs.

“Canada is built on the ancestral land of indigenous peoples, but regrettably… for indigenous peoples in Canada, the experience was mostly one of humiliation, neglect, and abuse,” he said before the United Nations General Assembly.

Indigenous people make up about four percent of the Canadian population and face higher levels of poverty and violence and shorter life expectancies. They have fought for generations to gain greater control of the development of the country’s natural resources.

Many aboriginal communities do not have access to safe drinking water, and suicides have plagued several isolated communities.

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