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In the tariff war, is Canada forgetting about Indigenous nations?

In the tariff war, is Canada forgetting about Indigenous nations?

In the fear and fury generated by the US administration's thuggish treatment of Canada and other allies and trade partners, Canadian political elites have donned the Captain Canada mantle. Virtually all political parties and think tanks are asserting Canadian sovereignty and making commitments to jobs and incomes by proposing new mechanisms to ensure expedited approvals of priority infrastructure and industrial projects.
In this melee, Indigenous nations, and our rights and interests, are not discussed — we remain marginalized. Our rights attract attention only when political elites and indeed, most Canadians, think the political agenda is relaxed enough to tolerate it, or there is something to gain through our inclusion.
Indigenous Peoples' rights have a legal basis and some Constitutional recognition domestically, and more robust recognition in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, the gold standard for these rights. Any national policy that ignores these realities will be expensive and vulnerable to litigation and civil society opposition, as evidenced by the pipeline fights in BC and the fishing wars in Mi'kmaw territory. Further, Ontario's 'Ring of Fire' region, invoked by some politicians as an immediate source of state-approved projects for its untapped mineral wealth, is on unceded Treaty 9 Indigenous territory.
Ignoring Indigenous nations and rights, as Canada enters a new economic chapter, would shred Canada's reputation, much as ignoring the Canada-USA-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) shreds America's. Ignoring us is contrary to the last decade of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation work and is a serious risk to both the legitimacy of political elites and the profitability of Canadian industries.
Regulatory streamlining anticipated for pre-approved or quickly approved projects benefiting corporate stakeholders with government approvals for pipelines, mines and such, runs right through Indigenous lands, waters and rights. This is true despite the involvement in some projects of a few Indigenous communities or capitalists.
Cutting 'red tape' and eliminating regulatory barriers, proposed by a number of politicians and corporate actors, facilitates the fast-forward, consequence-free kinds of approaches beloved by investment capitalists and the governments that service them. However, one critic's 'red tape' is another's regulatory regime ensuring transparency, accountability and compliance with safety codes, environmental standards, and fundamental human rights. Indigenous rights require state recognition and regulatory support.
Moreover, Canadians face another existential crisis unrelated to US President Donald Trump's reckless trade war: the breakdown of our climate and natural environment collapse as a direct result of political, corporate and consumer activity. That catastrophe looms at least as large as present economic threats. Indigenous rights and priorities are linked to climate and environmental matters in profoundly important ways. Most of us come from cultures that privilege relationships with everything in our territorial environments. Maintaining these relationships is a primary obligation.
Ignoring Indigenous Peoples' rights is contrary to Canada's Truth and Reconciliation work and is a serious risk to the legitimacy of political elites and the profitability of Canadian industries, write Joyce Green and Christine Sy
While sharing our fellow citizens' fears about the Trump-induced economic perils, we have fears too, about the trampling of Indigenous rights and interests, seen as impediments to the prime directive of protecting economic growth and the jobs it sustains. We are not entirely hostile to these priorities, but surely, we can expect the elite political class to walk and chew gum at the same time.
Canadian governments and citizens must focus on the very serious threats to the state's sovereignty and economic order, while still advancing its ethical relations with Indigenous nations, protecting Indigenous rights and enacting legislation to meet the challenges of the imminent and evident threat of more catastrophic climate change and environmental collapse.
Given the erasure of Indigenous nations in public discourse about Canada's future, we wonder if a next iteration of the Idle No More movement is needed to bring these matters into the public eye and get them on the political agenda?
Canada wishes to defend its sovereignty in the face of threatening rhetoric from the Trump administration, but it cannot simultaneously ignore the sovereignty of the many Indigenous nations with whom it is in relationship. The colonial rampage has never stopped for us, even if the language framing it has changed. We are still trying to recover from colonialism in a context where it is still unfolding. Some of us are still seeking either negotiation or implementation of treaties. Many treaties that exist are coerced agreements created in contexts manipulated to cause duress, somewhat like the mystifying, ever-changing shifts in trade relationships instigated by the US that Canada faces now.
Indeed, Canadians are about to empathize much more personally with the politics of imperialism, the disparity of power relations, and the implications of being subjected to external dominance and exploitation. Might this lend itself to an appreciation of what Indigenous Peoples have and continue to endure?
With American imperialism at the door, will Canada reflect on its relationships with Indigenous nations, and recognize that its honour is only as good as its commitment to reconciling its relationship with the Indigenous nations upon whose lands it calls home?
Joyce Green is professor emerita of political science at the University of Regina. Her research interests focus on Aboriginal-settler relations and the possibility of decolonization in Canada.

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Hanes: It seems the courts can only do so much to protect English institutions from overreach
Hanes: It seems the courts can only do so much to protect English institutions from overreach

Montreal Gazette

time37 minutes ago

  • Montreal Gazette

Hanes: It seems the courts can only do so much to protect English institutions from overreach

By Shock waves rippled across the globe last month when U.S. President Donald Trump slapped a ban on international students at Harvard University, part of his escalating war against America's oldest institution of higher learning. Harvard fought back and the courts granted a reprieve to 6,700 international students attending one of the world's most prestigious universities, including 700 Canadians. But it's clear Trump has it out for Harvard in particular as he seeks to remould American universities to prevent them from spreading supposedly 'woke,' leftist ideology and challenging his administration's undercutting of democracy. He has withdrawn billions in grants and research funding, arrested international students or revoked their visas, threatened universities' tax status, and interfered with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. 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Carney facing some Liberal pushback over Modi's invitation to G7 summit

time40 minutes ago

Carney facing some Liberal pushback over Modi's invitation to G7 summit

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The commission reviewed intelligence suggesting Indian-aligned proxies may have clandestinely provided financial support to various Canadian politicians to try and get more pro-Indian candidates elected. The report also found that India has used disinformation to further its goals in Canada. Liberal MP Karina Gould, a past cabinet minister and leadership contender, said human rights should be on the agenda when Carney meets with Modi and if another controversial G7 invitee, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (new window) , also decides to attend. Bin Salman has been tied to the killing of Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi. I understand why they were invited. Part of diplomacy is having these conversations — you don't shut the door to them, Gould said. But we're also standing up for values that are important to Canadians. WATCH | MPs asked about India, Saudi Arabia invites : Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Liberal MPs asked about Carney inviting India, Saudi Arabia to G7 in Canada Liberal MPs Yasir Naqvi, Ahmed Hussen, Rob Oliphant and Yvan Baker were asked Wednesday to share their thoughts on Prime Minister Mark Carney inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia to attend the upcoming G7 summit in Alberta. The Modi invite is a sign Carney may be looking to reset relations with India after a particularly fractious period under the last Liberal government, said Fen Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University. It's sending a positive signal to the Indians that the Carney government wants to begin to turn the page on some of the frictions we saw during the Trudeau government and the difficulties they had with India, Hampson said in an interview with CBC News. 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Canada is facing an economic crisis with U.S. relations at a low point, International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said, and Canada needs to collaborate and work out some of the issues with India. I think the G7 is an important avenue for the prime minister to discuss some economic collaboration, Sidhu said. MP Yasir Naqvi, the parliamentary secretary to Sidhu, said there's no excuse for the very serious allegations around extrajudicial killings, but the Carney and Modi face-to-face is a chance for Canada to demand India's co-operation with the ongoing Canadian police investigation and to engage on the larger issue. This only happens if there's a relationship between our governments, Naqvi said. WATCH | Conservative leader on Modi's invitation: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Poilievre says Modi's G7 invitation was 'necessary' 5 days agoDuration0:55'We need to work with India,' Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, said when asked if it's appropriate for the Indian prime minister to come to Canada, as his government's role in a B.C. killing is investigated. And, as Carney looks to lessen Canada's dependence on the U.S., there are opportunities for Canadian businesses in India, Naqvi said. Canada is trying to open the door on relationships and say, 'We need to diversify our trade vastly,' added MP Rob Oliphant, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs. The message to the world is Canada is a vibrant trading partner. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said earlier this week that India is one of the biggest and fastest-growing economies in the world. India is a promising potential market for Canadian liquefied natural gas and nuclear power technology, among other products, Poilievre said, and that sort of trade depends on improving relations. We need to work with India … on trade and security, he said. The invitation is necessary. WATCH | NDP MP slams invitations : Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Modi's invitation to Canada 'deeply alarming,' says NDP MP NDP MP Heather McPherson joined colleagues on Parliament Hill to object to some of the foreign leaders invited to the G7 summit in Alberta, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, over his country's alleged links to the 2023 killing of B.C. Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Meanwhile, NDP MP Heather McPherson said Modi's inclusion is deeply alarming. This government has consistently and very clearly chosen profits and the economy over human rights, over people, she said. Profit over people. That's their mantra. John Paul Tasker (new window) · CBC News

City of Burnaby, B.C., to apologize to Chinese-Canadians for past discrimination
City of Burnaby, B.C., to apologize to Chinese-Canadians for past discrimination

Winnipeg Free Press

time40 minutes ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

City of Burnaby, B.C., to apologize to Chinese-Canadians for past discrimination

BURNABY – A formal apology is being planned by the City of Burnaby, B.C., for its role in discrimination toward people of Chinese descent who lived and worked in the city between 1892 and 1947. The city says in a news release that the decision was made after a community consultation process that included surveys, dialogue sessions, focus groups and individual interviews. A report by the Community Heritage Commission, which advises council on the city's heritage program, says discriminatory bylaws, trades licenses, and labour regulations were enacted against the Chinese population during that time. The city says the findings 'underscored the importance of the city acknowledging the hardships faced by early Chinese settlers and the lasting impact of historical discrimination.' It noted that more than one-third of Burnaby's current residents are of Chinese descent, including new immigrants as well as fourth- or fifth-generation Chinese Canadians who have deep roots there. The city has scheduled an event for the formal apology on Nov. 15, joining the provincial and federal governments and two other B.C. cities — Vancouver and New Westminster — that have already apologized for discriminatory practices against the community. The Prime Minister of Canada formally apologized in the House of Commons in 2006 for policies including charging a head tax for the Chinese to immigrate. The B.C. government apologized in 2015 for 160 historically racist laws, regulations, and policies that were imposed by past provincial governments that discriminated against people of Chinese descent. The City of New Westminster issued its formal apology in 2010 and the City of Vancouver said it was sorry in April 2018. Burnaby's news release says that in addition to making its own formal apology, it is also committed to increasing the visibility of Chinese-Canadian history, facilitating cultural activities and reducing barriers for inclusion. 'While we cannot right the historic wrongs that were committed in Burnaby, this process has outlined a path toward ensuring Burnaby is a place that is inclusive and welcoming to everyone,' Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley said in the release issued Wednesday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.

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