Tuesday, February 7, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Media
Support Us
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media
No Result
View All Result
Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Federal Indigenous agenda needs innovative ideas: Joseph Quesnel in the Toronto Sun

January 21, 2019
in Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources, Columns, In the Media, Indigenous Affairs Program, Joseph Quesnel, Latest News, Politics
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A

Minister O’Regan faces a lot of pressure to revive the government’s faltering Indigenous agenda. He can do that by pushing for bold commitments and innovative ideas, writes Joseph Quesnel.

By Joseph Quesnel, January 21, 2019

The decision to appoint a new Indigenous Services minister in the recent federal cabinet shuffle was controversial and disappointing to many.

Jane Philpott, the previous minister, was popular among First Nation leaders and widely seen as decisive and competent. Removing Philpott seemed to be another indication that the government is faltering on a file that it had demanded to be judged on following the last election.

But perhaps there is an opportunity here for the new minister, Seamus O’Regan. Ottawa needs fresh direction on Indigenous issues.

O’Regan surely understands why this new ministry exists at all. The government split the old department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs into two, with one overseeing Crown-Indigenous relations and Northern Affairs, and the other overseeing service delivery to communities, implementing a recommendation from the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

The old department combined negotiation and implementation responsibilities within the same departmental structure, an inherent conflict of interest. The intent of the change was for the government to continue meeting its service responsibilities to First Nations until they negotiate autonomy agreements with largely self-reliant bands.

O’Regan must keep that in mind and work for First Nations to become less dependent on Ottawa for services. The Liberal government is negotiating more self-government agreements with First Nations, but it is not evident they are working on economic self-reliance.

The new incoming minister must get the government to ensure every single First Nation – and every Canadian — resident has access to safe drinking water. The feds promised to end boil water advisories on reserves by 2021. Progress has been made on this file when both the Conservative and the Liberal governments made historic investments in water infrastructure. O’Regan should accelerate this historic accomplishment by ending these advisories sooner.

O’Regan must learn from the experience of the previous Conservative governments on First Nation education, which was more of a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach. Canada is full of examples of Indigenous communities, on a regional basis, adopting strong educational standards and being answered with good results.

This could be a model for future success. The Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey for example is an Indigenous educational authority in Nova Scotia that brings together schools in Mi’kmaw communities. They have seen improved graduation rates, as well as literacy and numeracy scores.

Perhaps the new minister can work on rolling out more such regional educational agreements.

The incoming minister could also adapt and introduce a 2010 proposal by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to create Aboriginal Post-Secondary Savings Accounts for every registered Indian for education funding, rather than through the government’s Post-Secondary Student Support Program, which channels funds through First Nation band councils. Past INAC audits found problems with funds disbursed through bands.

The new Indigenous Services minister should also ensure the government restores strong enforcement of the First Nations Financial Transparency Act. The Act – introduced by the previous government – may not be popular with some band governments but is quite popular with rank and file First Nations residents on reserve who were complaining that their governments were not opening the books. The law is not about shaming chiefs; it is about providing financial information to band residents, including the amount of own source revenues bands are generating.

Lastly, the new minister must address ongoing housing shortage problems on reserves in a big way. He should explore new models of delivery – including private ones – and must re-visit the idea of a First Nations Property Ownership Act (FNPOA) as voluntary opt-in legislation allowing access to financing for housing without requiring ministerial or First Nation guarantees. FNPOA would transfer full property rights to First Nation communities that could then grant them to individuals on reserves. New housing approaches that innovate in areas of ownership and financing are urgently required.

Minister O’Regan faces a lot of pressure to revive the government’s faltering Indigenous agenda. He can do that by pushing for bold commitments and innovative ideas.

Joseph Quesnel is program manager for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s Aboriginal Canada and the Natural Resource Economy project.

Tags: Indigenousindigenous affairsinnovationJoseph Quesnel
Previous Post

For the security of Canadians, Huawei should be banned from our 5G networks: Richard Fadden in the Globe and Mail

Next Post

Meng Wanzhou and the Future of Canada-China Relations: Charles Burton for Inside Policy

Related Posts

Prioritizing gender identity over sex in prisons endangers female prisoners
Releases

Prioritizing gender identity over sex in prisons endangers female prisoners

February 6, 2023
Greedflation? It’s a government thing: Philip Cross in the Financial Post
Columns

Jagmeet Singh uses confusion about private care to support the status quo: Shawn Whatley in the National Post

February 6, 2023
Stronger enforcement of the Competition Act is better than a dramatic overhaul
Commentary

Stronger enforcement of the Competition Act is better than a dramatic overhaul

February 2, 2023
Next Post
Meng Wanzhou and the Future of Canada-China Relations: Charles Burton for Inside Policy

Meng Wanzhou and the Future of Canada-China Relations: Charles Burton for Inside Policy

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

323 Chapel Street, Suite #300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 7Z2 Canada

613.482.8327

info@macdonaldlaurier.ca
MLI directory

Follow us on

Newsletter Signup

First Name
Last Name
Email Address

Support Us

Support the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to help ensure that Canada is one of the best governed countries in the world. Click below to learn more or become a sponsor.

Support Us

Inside Policy Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Back Issues
  • Advertising
  • Inside Policy Blog
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

IDEAS CHANGE THE WORLD!Have the latest Canadian thought leadership delivered straight to your inbox.
First Name
Last Name
Email address

No thanks, I’m not interested.