Jamie Sarkonak: The King's land acknowledgement undermined his own authority

National Post

5 days ago

The whole point of bringing King Charles III over to deliver a throne speech was to assert Canadian sovereignty, so it's curious that some of the first words out of his mouth denigrated Canada's legitimacy.
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'I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people,' said the King in his opening remarks to Parliament on Tuesday. His words were largely written by the government, but he can tell the government that he's not comfortable reading them. Whether he did, well, we'll never know.
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He continued: 'This land acknowledgement is a recognition of shared history as a nation. While continuing to deepen my own understanding, it is my great hope that in each of your communities, and collectively as a country, a path is found toward truth and reconciliation, in both word and deed.'
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Well, at least he referred to one nation, that being Canada. But he also spoke of territory, that is 'unceded,' that belongs to the Anishinaabe, which somewhat puts that first label of 'nation' into question. If they never gave it up, and it still belongs to them, then are they not sovereign? Of course, the matter of sovereignty in the Ottawa region is more complex than that, but the King left himself open to that interpretation.
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Which isn't ideal, since the bedrock of our nation as a concept and legal entity — Crown ownership of all land and holder of ultimate jurisdiction within its boundaries — has been under attack for some years. Yes, many people own their own estates within Canada's territory, but the fundamental holder of all title is the Crown. At least, that's how it should commonly be understood, because that's the reality of the situation.
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Indigenous sovereigntists — who consist of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who don't recognize Canada as the legal owner of Canadian lands — believe that the fundamental holders of Canadian territory are the Indigenous people. Usually, they misunderstand the numbered treaties, which were land cessation agreements, as international treaties with sovereign nations. They deny any conquest of Canada occurred. They view Canadian land as a product of theft against these sovereign nations.
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And their solution involves restoring Indigenous sovereignty, bit by bit, by extracting greater rents from more parts of the Canadian economy, returning more government powers and responsibilities to Indigenous groups, and shifting public opinion to be amenable to these changes.