Ottawa endorses UN indigenous rights declaration

Canada finally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on Nov. 12, a move praised by Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc..

Simon called the endorsement a “positive step” in the of relationship between Inuit and the federal government.

“It is a remarkable achievement by the aboriginal peoples of this country who worked for so many years to see this day arrive,” Simon said, adding that she hoped the declaration will lead to all governments closing the gap in living standards between Inuit and other Canadians.

NTI’s interim president Jose Kusugak also said the endorsement is “a positive step.”

“I see this as a commitment to build a positive working relationship and a commitment to work cooperatively in addressing the issues that have stalled full implementation of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, Kusugak said in a Nov. 12 news release from NTI.

The declaration was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2007, and calls for governments and corporations to obtain the “free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous communities” for use of their lands and resources.

The declaration also says indigenous people must be equal partners in all negotiations on self-determination, lands and resources, culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues.

Canada was one of four nations that originally voted against the declaration, which was adopted by the General Assembly in September 2007 after more than 20 years of debate. Since then, Australia and New Zealand have also officially endorsed it. The United States is the only country that has yet to change its position.

At the time Canada voted against it, government said the document was “fundamentally incompatible with Canada’s constitutional framework.”

But in March, during the speech from the throne, the Tories delivered a surprise about-face on the declaration, pledging to give it qualified support.

And, in a change of heart, the federal government on Friday officially threw its support behind the declaration outlining the rights of the world’s estimated 370 million indigenous people.

The opposition Liberals said they support the endorsement.

“This is the first step in a series of steps that the Conservatives need to make in order to earn back the trust of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples,” said Liberal aboriginal affairs critic Todd Russell.

“Our intent was always to approach the declaration in a careful and principled manner,” Margot Geduld, a spokeswoman for the department of Indian and Northern Affairs, said Friday. “The concerns that were expressed in 2007 do remain. But Canada does support the spirit of the declaration and believes it should be supported as an aspirational document.”

The declaration is not legally binding, has no legal effect in Canada and its provisions do not represent customary international law.

“We look forward to working with the federal government to implement the declaration in Canada and to promote it internationally,” Simon said in a Nov. 12 statement from ITK.

“The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides a strong basis through which Indigenous peoples can assert our rights and advance our goals in our relations with States, corporations, the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations and other institutions,” she said.

Effective implementation of the declaration means Ottawa will have incorporate its principles into current and future laws, policies and programs affecting aboriginal people, she said.

“Those current laws, policies, and programs have left aboriginal peoples in Canada far behind other Canadians in relation to basic measurements of social and economic well-being,” Simon said.

with files from Postmedia News