Recognition and Implementation of Indigenous Rights Framework (RIIRF) is a legislation and policy initiative intended to be undertaken in "full partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples" that was announced during a speech in the House of Commons of Canada by Prime Minister,
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
on February 14, 2018.
It was "meant to enshrine the Constitution's section 35, which affirms Aboriginal rights, in federal law, allowing First Nations to reconstitute their governance structures outside the Indian Act."
Objectives
The framework is intended to "enshrine
Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982
Section 35 of the ''Constitution Act, 1982'' provides constitutional protection to the indigenous and treaty rights of indigenous peoples in Canada. The section, while within the Constitution of Canada, falls outside the ''Canadian Charter of Rig ...
— which affirms Indigenous rights — in federal law" and to "fill the gap between federal government policies and multiple court decisions on Indigenous rights."
According to the Overview published by the AFN in September 2018, the framework will "
eate new tools and mechanisms for supporting self-determination through both law and policy,
pport distinctions-based approaches for First Nations, Inuit and Métis,
vance the implementation of treaties and agreements,
pport new approaches to the evolution of treaties and agreements, and
ep the Government of Canada accountable."
The overview also noted that the framework will not "
fine and limit the rights of Indigenous Peoples,
eate municipal-style governments,
fringe on provincial or territorial jurisdiction,
ter, without the agreement of the parties, any treaties, agreements or arrangements concluded under existing policies, or tables currently operating under existing policies,
eclude Indigenous peoples from pursuing other opportunities to advance their priorities,
tinguish rights or seek the cession, release or surrender of rights, or
pose solutions."
Engagement
In December 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the
Assembly of First Nations
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is an assembly of Canadian First Nations (Indian bands) represented by their chiefs. Established in 1982 and modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, it emerged from the National Indian Brotherhood, ...
(AFN) that he was "open to repealing laws unilaterally imposed on them".
According to an article in ''iPolitics'', he said, "Where measures are found to be in conflict with your rights, where they are inconsistent with the principles of good governance, or where they simply make no public policy sense, we will rescind them."
By June 2016,
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
* Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
* Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehor ...
(INAC) held about twenty "exploratory tables" with "indigenous leaders on potential self-government and land agreements.
On February 14, 2018, during a speech in the House of Commons, Trudeau announced the formation of the Recognition and Implementation of Indigenous Rights Framework (RIIRF) which would be undertaken in "full partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples".
From March through June 2018, the Crown-Indigenous Relations Canada (CIRC) conducted 89 engagement sessions "from coast to coast to coast that gathered input from over 1,300 participants".
On July 12, 2018
Crown-Indigenous Relations Canada (CIRC) officials released a draft discussion paper, " What we heard so far on the recognition and implementation of Indigenous rights" as part of the ongoing process.
According to ''CBC News'', the paper was widely panned by First Nations leaders as "insulting."
In "late August, high-profile First Nations leaders and legal experts" contacted Trudeau in writing to ask for a change in the way in which
Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations
The minister of Crown–Indigenous relations (french: ministre des relations couronne-autochtones) is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet, one of two ministers (the other being the minister of northern affairs) who administer Crown ...
,
Carolyn Bennett, was handling the co-development process for the framework.
The AFN held a Policy Forum entitled "Affirming First Nations Rights, Title and Jurisdiction" on September 11 and 12, 2018, to discuss the framework.
The forum "turned disastrous" and faced a "nascent organized resistance that echoed the early days of the Idle No More movement." AFN National Chief
Perry Bellegarde
Perry Bellegarde (born August 29, 1962; Little Black Bear First Nation) is a Canadian First Nations advocate and politician who served as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations from December 10, 2014, to July 8, 2021. said in a September 11 speech during a forum to discuss the framework, that the Trudeau government, which wanted to introduce the framework by the fall, needed to slow down the process.
By September 2018, according to Clerk of the Privy Council
Michael Wernick
Michael Wernick (born September 1957) is a Canadian retired public servant who served as the 23rd clerk of the Privy Council for Canada from 2016 to 2019. Following his tenure as clerk, Wernick joined the University of Ottawa, where he was name ...
, who is the "lead on the Indigenous framework file", Trudeau expressed concerns at the "slow pace of work" which he had hoped to introduce in the fall of 2018.
Background
There have been a series of reports and commissions, such as the "Report on the
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) was a Canadian royal commission established in 1991 with the aim of investigating the relationship between Indigenous peoples in Canada, the Government of Canada, and Canadian society as a whole. ...
(1996), the Penner Report (1983),
[The Penner Report by the Special Parliamentary Committee on Indian Self-Government, chaired by Liberal MP Keith Penner, recommended the phasing out of the ]Indian Act
The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...
and the Department of Indian Affairs
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
and the introduction of Native self-government. In 1984, with Brian Mulroney as Prime Minister, the Report was dismissed. the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Canada)
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC; french: Commission de vérité et réconciliation du Canada []) was a truth and reconciliation commission active in Canada from 2008 to 2015, organized by the parties of the Indian Reside ...
Calls to Action (2015), the Principles Respecting the Government of Canada’s Relationship with Indigenous Peoples (2017), Recognition of Indigenous Rights and Self-Determination discussions, and the national engagement led by the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations", that confirm that "changes are needed to ensure that policies effectively respond to the needs and interests of Indigenous communities". Policies need to be aligned "with evolving laws and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the concept of free, prior and informed consent."
In August, 2017, Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
announced that the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) was being dismantled and replaced with two new departments: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, and Indigenous Services.
In November 2017, the Government of Canada committed to supporting the implementation of
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007. It delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, including th ...
(UNDRIP), an "international human rights instrument that identifies rights of Indigenous peoples".
The Liberal government's decided to "set up a law and policy review to ensure that all laws and policies in Canada align with Section 35, UNDRIP and what Mr. Fitz-Morris calls "our commitment to a new relationship."
"On Dec. 6,
018then-Indigenous Services Minister
Jane Philpott
Jane Philpott (née Little; born November 23, 1960) is a physician, academic administrator, and former Canadian politician who represented the riding of Markham—Stouffville in the House of Commons. Philpott was first elected in the 2015 fed ...
announced that First Nations with solid financial track records are now eligible for guaranteed 10-year funding." ''The Globe and Mail'' wrote that this is an admission on the part of the government that the "status quo for First Nations communities under the
Indian Act
The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...
has been hundreds of years of insecure and unstable funding."
Notes
References
{{reflist, 30em
Further reading
*
Aboriginal land title in Canada
In Canada, aboriginal title is considered a ''sui generis'' interest in land. Aboriginal title has been described this way in order to distinguish it from other proprietary interests, but also due to the fact its characteristics cannot be explaine ...
Law of Canada
Politics of Canada