Dissecting the Conservative Aboriginal Policy, Part Two

Part 2: Grab Your Tonto Secret Decoder Rings, Kids!

Summary of Part 1

Earlier this week the Bunker introduced you to the Aboriginal Vision of Thomas Flanagan, mentor and advisory to Stephen Harper and author of “First Nations, Second Thoughts”. That tome is an editorial (backed with bad history and worse constitutional analysis) espousing the abolition of Treaties and Land Claims, and urging the assimilation of Aboriginal peoples. It has since become a classic among the Reform/Alliance crowd – at least, the ones who still have scruples enough to need an intellectual fig-leaf to conceal their contempt for Aboriginal rights.

Now, no sane Canadian politician in his right mind would ever come right out and honestly admit that reneging on treaties and trying to eliminate Aboriginal rights, governments and culture was their party’s goal. Harper has come pretty close, mind you: he refused a specific request from the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council, and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami to reject Flanagan’s little program for assimilation; and the Conservative Party has, until recently, failed to publish a comprehensive policy statement on Aboriginal affairs. More troubling is the fact that every major policy decision made by the Harper Government has quietly advanced the strategy of assimilation by:

• attempting to make Land Claims and Treaties subsidiary to Canadian laws;
• ignoring the principle of Nation-to-Nation relationships, specifically by treating self governments as thought they were municipal governments;
• directing funding in ways that moves natives off reserves and into the cities;
• promoting measures to diminish the Aboriginal land base to the extent possible; and/or
• eliminating programs of support for Aboriginal people as “discriminatory”.

These measures, of course, are always couched in warm and fuzzy terms of deepest concern for the poor natives. Unable to tell what’s best for themselves, and at the mercy of corrupt chiefs and band councils, our poor, dim brown brothers and sisters require the benevolent guidance of Harper’s Conservatives, who of course understand their REAL needs better than they do themselves.

Just a few weeks ago the Conservative finally passed a policy resolution giving shape and voice to their vision for Aboriginal Canada. As we progress through their document over the next few posts, pay particular attention to three things:

• The way in which each policy statement is framed by a broad and benevolent statement of why this is a grand and noble step:
• The way in which each policy statement advances ONE of the five assimilationist strategies listed above: and,
• The degree to which the policy addresses Canada’s legal, constitutional and treaty obligations (an important element of a federal policy, one would think – no?)

Sorry about the long preamble, but that context is important. I won’t repeat it in future posts.

I propose to go through the policy resolution section by section. I’ll try not to get too Fisk-y with it, and at the end, I’ll summarize the key themes.

But before we start: what exactly IS this document I’m commenting on?

It’s Policy Resolution P-223, tabled during the “Canada’s Social and Democratic Framework” workshop, and passed by the workshop on Fri., Nov. 14th. To quote the resolution itself,

The Conservative Party believes that the following principles should govern the administration of existing federal Aboriginal programs. These principles should also govern future legislative reform to the Indian Act and related legislation. They should also inform government decision making in the of rights disputes – whether based upon existing treaties, court decisions or Section 35 of the Constitution Act.

(That’s my emphasis in there. There appears to be a crucial noun missing in that highlighted phrase, between the words “the” and “of”.)

This resolution asserts that a political party document should, in future, form the basis of Federal Aboriginal programming, including existing programs created by prior governments, AND form the basis of a revamped Indian Act. That’s interesting.

But even more interesting is that final sentence, with its mysterious missing noun. (What do you suppose that word is? “Resolution”?) It appears to suggest that this Party Policy should be given greater weight than existing treaties (which would included Land Claims Agreements), court decisions (which would include Sparrow, Delgamuk, Marshall, Haida Vs. BC, and all the other cases that have painstakingly interpreted our laws and Constitution), and even greater weight than the Constitution itself.

Let me restate that, to make it perfectly clear. A bunch of Reform/Conservative ideologues at a three day bash in Winnipeg have taken it upon themselves to assert that their ideology will henceforth override Section 35 and trump the Supreme Court in the formulation of Canadian Aboriginal policy and programming.

Section 35 gives constitutional protection to Aboriginal and treaty rights. It falls outside the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and overrides every other piece of Canadian legislation, including the Charter. So one wonders how on earth the Conservatives intend that their resolution should “inform government decision making” in rights disputes, given that those rights are established under the highest law of the land, and have been confirmed and reaffirmed by our Supreme Court.)

But that’s Flanaganism for ya – a blind, bull-headed assertion of ideology, unimpeded by actual fact. Constitutional scholars have derided “First Nations, Second Thoughts” for his apparent ignorance of the Constitution, as historians have dismissed it for its ignorance of history. But for Flanagan and the Blue Believers, reality is just another inconvenience.

Hold onto your hats, folks, it gets better.

Next stop: How to Strangle the Programs.