Canadian Politics Quiz

Indigenous People

This lecture includes brief mentions of racism, child violence/death and sexual violence. Please take care of yourself.

Terminology

Aboriginal (CA 1982, Sec 35): "aboriginal peoples of Canada" includes the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada (constitutional/legal status)
First Nations: generally replaced the term "Indian"; does not have a legal definition; can refer to a band, a reserve community, or a larger tribal grouping
Status Indians: person registered under the Indian Act
Inuit: Indigenous people of the Arctic; not considered "Indians" under Canadian law
Métis: cultures and ethnic identities resulted from unions between Aboriginal and European people; not considered "Indians" under Canadian law
Indigenous: term used to encompass a variety of Aboriginal groups. Most frequently used in an international, transnational, or global context

Objectives

Who are Canada's Indigenous People?
How do we understand Indigenous-Canada Relations?
What is (some of) the history between Indigenous People and Canada?
Where is Canada today?
Where are we with treaties?

Census 2021: Indigenous Population

2021 Census: 1.8 million Indigenous people, 5.0% of the total population of Canada
More than 70 Indigenous languages
A breakdown of Indigenous identity population in Canada in 2021: First Nations: 1,048,405 (58.0%) Métis: 624,220 (34.5%) Inuit: 70,540 (3.9%) Indigenous responses not included elsewhere: 35,225 (1.9%) Multiple Indigenous responses: 28,855 (1.6%)

Indigenous Population in 2021 by Province/Territory

Proportion of the population who were Indigenous in each Canadian Province/Territory. (Specific data displayed in percentages)

How do we understand Indigenous-Canada Relations?

Will Kymlicka: Canada is a multinational and polyethnic state national minorities polyethnic or ethnic groups

Canada as a Settler State

Settler colonialism: colonizers do not withdraw; instead establish a sovereign claim over a new territory and people
State appropriates Indigenous land, resources and jurisdiction for settlers' benefit
Canada, US, New Zealand, Australia, etc. are settler societies
Settler: non-Indigenous people or their descendants who moved to and settled in what is now Canada
Colonialism done for resources; deals with indigenous people for items like fur

Era of Assimilation

CA 1867/BNA Act, Section 91: Indians – federal responsibility
- Indigenous people wards of the state
- All Indian land becomes British land
- This group is not seen as someone you can make a deal with
Indian Act (1876): consolidated Crown legislation dealing with Indian policy
Legal category of Indian Status (blood quantum)
Enfranchisement provisions
Superintendent of Indian Affairs
Banning of cultural practices
Band council system instead of indigenous government
Assimilation of Indigenous peoples into mainstream settler society
If you were to sivalize your name of an Indian it can be takeaway means you don't get the pros of it any more
To end Indigenous People and turn them into different people
Indian Residential Schools system (1884-1996): Objective: remove children from their homes, traditions, cultures and assimilate them into the dominant culture. Financed by the federal government, staffed and run by several Christian religious institutions More than 150,000 Indigenous
2005: Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement
2008-2015: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
2022: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation -September 30
Over 1500 institutions not recognized as residential schools under agreement

Early Relations

1492: Arrival of Europeans
North America was not discovered; pre-existing sovereign Indigenous nations existed.
Fur trade
Treaties and trade agreements
Early interactions were mostly harmonious and mutually beneficial; little conflict.
Royal Proclamation (1763): made possible for trades; gave Indigenous a title, they retain their land until they want to give it up, this did not matter after they just took it from them.
Indigenous don't see treaties as giving up land but as a friendship.
Treaty of Niagara (1764): adding the silver beads (the 2 bots)

Shifting Relations (1960s-1980s)

Ramping down of the IRS system
Sixties Scoop (1950-1980): children taken away
2017 settlement: result of class action lawsuit
White Paper (1969) proposal to dismantle the Indian Act (and giving accommodations)
Resolving the "Indian problem" using a multi-cultural framework
Forceful rejection and rise in Indigenous organizing and activism
CA 1982: recognized and affirmed existing aboriginal and treaty rights. Indigenous rights subject to increasing judicialization.
Self-government (inherent)
Charlottetown Accord (failed) in 1992
1995 – policy
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996)
2021: Canada signs the UNDRIP(United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples); made in 2007 not wanted by Canada, New Zealand and US

Other

To date, over 85% of the Calls to Action involving the Government of Canada are now completed or well underway. Progress is being made to change colonial laws, policies, and institutions.
Canada is a settler state, conceived over and against Indigenous sovereignties.
Most settler Canadians have never personally committed an act of explicit racism but have benefited from the structures and consequences of colonialism (which are now called "privilege").
No Canadian government has turned away from colonial assumptions and towards reconciliation.

Where are we with treaties?

Treaties: formal legal agreements between countries
Historic treaties (1701-1923): Canada recognizes 70 historic treaties
Relational vs. transactional perspective on treaties
Treaty making stopped after 1923, treaties did not exist for much of the country as they were just taking the land
Treaty making restarted in the 1970s because of the White Paper
Calder v. Attorney-General of British Columbia (1967): Nisgaʻa's title to their lands had never been lawfully extinguished through treaty. The Supreme Court of Canada acknowledged aboriginal title
Title: Indigenous peoples retained ownership and control of all land not formally ceded or purchased from them
Modern treaties: fall into comprehensive claims, and specific claims
1975: James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement between the Cree and Inuit (first provincial comprehensive land claim settlement)
Since 1975, 26 modern treaties (18 with self-government provisions)
CA, 1982: Treaty rights recognized and affirmed by section 35
Issues with modern treaties: pressure to enter them; long negotiations (at least 10 years); relational vs. transactional perspective.

Canada as A Settler Country

Indigenous people are heterogenous with a complex history, cultures, and languages along with their relationship with Canada.
While overt forms of colonialism, racism and assimilation no longer exist in Canada, many of the effects of colonialism still do and treaties are one example.

Key Points

Canada is a settler country; comprised of different groups and regions.
Indigenous people are heterogenous with a complex history, cultures, and languages along with their relationship with Canada.
There are different forms of regionalism.
Regionalism and nationalism cause political instability
Quebec is not a province like the others.
Regionalism remains one of the defining features of Canadian politics.
The struggle over the constitution in Canada was shaped by dreams and compromises and different participants. Some dreams were expressed but some were not fully expressed in the final outcome and for some, especially those of Quebec nationalists, the constitutional settlement represents an historic defeat. For others, the settlement represents a sweeping compromise.

The Executive

What key concepts are relevant to understanding the executive in Canada?
What is the executive? Who makes up the executive in Canada? What is the nature of their power?
What are the key debates about the executive?
Westminster parliamentary government
Crown
Cabinet
We are a constitutional monarchy
It is a system role by a monarch
a system characterized by rules according to a constitution
They have political and formal executive
Fusion of powers
The idea that we have a duel the executive in the legislature
Responsible government
The government must have the confidence of the house
Formal executive: monarch (represented by Governor General and Lieutenant Governors) & their representatives.
Political executive: Cabinet members who act on behalf of the monarch and are accountable to the legislature.
The Crown (King Charles III): supreme ruler, but powers exercised by Representatives (Governor General & Lieutenant Governors)
Governor-General: de facto Head of State, works under the King, appointment is symbolic and represents both French and English, appointed for 5 years but can be for 7
Prerogative Powers: powers reserved by the Crown to ensure smooth functioning of government. (e.g., dissolving parliament, prorogation, appointing judges, concluding treaties)
Should Canada abolish the monarchy? — monarchist vs. republicans

• What is the political executive? What is the nature of their power?

The Cabinet: comprised of Prime Minister and ministers of the Crown; responsible to the House of Commons; exercises the power of the Crown.
The Prime Minister: recognized by convention, head of government, "primus inter pares" (first among equals), directs the government. Responsible for forming the government and advising the Governor-General.
Parliamentary secretaries: assistants to cabinet ministers (not cabinet members)
Cabinet conventions: individual ministerial responsibility (Cabinet ministers responsible to the House of Commons for their departments), and collective ministerial responsibility (Cabinet acts as a united front, and all cabinet members must publicly support Cabinet decisions).
What we want in Cabinet Composition (Considerations in forming the cabinet): seniority, province/region, ethnicity & language, gender, portfolio, political values
29th Canadian Ministry (2015-present): most recent shuffle (July 27, 2023); 38 members including the Prime Minister; representation from all regions. Gender parity (women in senior portfolios); including racialized and LGBTQ2S+ ministers.
Cabinet Committees: carry out daily work, assigned areas of responsibility by PM.
Other First Ministers: list of premiers & relevant details
NWT & NU: consensus style of government
Is the PM too powerful? Factors on both sides (Yes and No)

Parliament

What is Parliament?
What are the general functions of Senate?
What's wrong with the Senate? Can it be fixed?
What are the general functions House of Commons?
Why is it so important to Canadian Politics?
Who comprises the House of Commons?
Parliamentary Sovereignty: legislative body has absolute sovereignty.
Bicameral (of a legislative body) having two branches or chambers.
Fusion of powers/ responsible government
What is Parliamentary Sovereignty?
Why is the house of commons the most 'important' body? What are limitations?
Senate roles: legislative review (sober second thought); regional representation (interstate federalism)
The Senate: Section 26: additional senators for each province/region Seat Allocation (105) Qualifications: Appointment (Age, citizenship, property ownership, residency) Removal (difficult) The Senate - Appointment (slide below) constitutional qualifications; age; citizenship; property; residency; removal – difficult Once partisan now more independent
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The Senate - Roles
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• Legislative review • Act as a check for the majority of the house of commons • Sober thought(relaxed minds to make acts) • Give a voice in the senate

• The Senate: Reform Options

Abolition; provincial input; senators-in-waiting; Harper proposals; Term limits; Selection process; Trudeau process -Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments (2015). • Senate Appointment Application constitutional requirements (Age, citizenship, net worth, residency) government requirements (non-partisanship, knowledge requirement, Personal qualities)

•House of Commons • What is Parliament? - The House of Commons is Canada's premier legislative institution but three parts of Parliament need to work together for law to be passed

General Functions of House of Commons: Confidence chamber, confidence votes, Speech from the Throne; budget
What happens if the government loses the confidence of the majority of members?

Summary of Functions of House of Commons: • representation (election) • conferring legitimacy • scrutiny (responsible government) – to insure reasonable government • recruitment (cabinet) –do law-making • financing government –power of the purse • political education

Party discipline: the idea that MPs vote along party lines
Party whip: appointed by each political party to manage attendance, ensure party discipline, etc.
Caucus: gatherings of party members to discuss strategy, policies, etc.
Free vote: a vote where individuals are not required to follow party lines and are able to vote according to their personal beliefs or conscience.
House of Commons: Seats Allocation
representative democracy- citizens ask others to act on their behave; 338 seats; seats allocation
The Legislative Process
bills
private
public
rules, etc
Other key points