Liberals make vow to First Nations

OTTAWA— Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett says the new Liberal government will rebuild the relationship with First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples by including them in every decision that affects them and their land.

“That means starting out right, such that everything has been considered before a decision is taken so that you can find that win-win of ‘You can develop there but not there,’ ” Bennett said in an interview this week, when asked how the Liberals plan to make good on their promise to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave that sentiment a boost when he told his new cabinet ministers in their mandate letters: “No relationship is more important to me and to Canada than the one with Indigenous Peoples.”

The Crown already has a constitutionally protected “duty to consult” with Aboriginal Peoples on issues that might affect their interests, but the UN declaration goes much further and calls on governments to obtain “free, prior and informed consent,” including when it comes to natural resources development.

The idea this could turn into a veto was one of the concerns that Canada — under the previous government of Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper — cited as a reason for its opposition to signing UNDRIP in 2007 and then its refusal to adopt an outcome document last year.

“There are many ways of achieving mutual results, but it begins with the conversation and it isn’t writing legislation and then saying, ‘You love it, don’t you?’ We are committed to sitting down early . . . on every single thing that will affect indigenous people in Canada,” said Bennett.