The Liberal party of today is not quite the same as the one elected in 2015 promising to foster new paths and nation-to-nation relationships with Indigenous Peoples, the leaders of the three national Indigenous organizations said recently.

SA国际影视传媒淥ur reconciliation moment that started in 2015 really had, in the beginning, this blue-sky hope of a changed Canada,SA国际影视传媒� said Natan Obed, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, an organization that serves as the national voice for 70,000 Inuit in Canada.

SA国际影视传媒淣ow, in many cases, weSA国际影视传媒檙e trying to figure out how to implement our clear positions SA国际影视传媒� the things that we hope to do to implement our rights or to build a better relationship with this country. But weSA国际影视传媒檙e seeing the challenges in either working with the federal government to do that, or even between Indigenous peoples.SA国际影视传媒�

Cassidy Caron, president of the M茅tis National Council representing M茅tis in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia, says there was a seismic shift in the governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 agenda around the time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The housing crisis and the increased cost of living took over headline after headline, but there was a lack of acknowledgment from politicians that Indigenous Peoples have been at the front line of those crises long before they became political talking points, she said.

SA国际影视传媒淲ith one year left before a federal election, thereSA国际影视传媒檚 still significant work that needs to be done, and we have the ability to do it in partnership,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淏ut we need a willing partner on the other side.SA国际影视传媒�

Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations representing some 630 chiefs across the country, said the lives of Indigenous Peoples are literally on the line of that partnership.

She pointed to the police-involved killings of nine Indigenous people in recent weeks.

SA国际影视传媒淚f that was done to the same proportions on another community somewhere, it would be alarming,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

SA国际影视传媒淭he whole of government is responsible for this.SA国际影视传媒�

The ministers of Indigenous Services and Crown-Indigenous Relations acknowledge that progress may not be as swift as Indigenous Peoples may wish to see but insist their determination SA国际影视传媒� and that of their government SA国际影视传媒� has never wavered.

Still, agenda items remain unfulfilled, namely around the recognition of rights, child welfare reforms, the ever-growing infrastructure gap and clean drinking water.

Indigenous identity

Perhaps the most fraught discussion is about who recognized as Indigenous.

That issue came to a head after the Liberals introduced Bill C-53, a mechanism to formally recognize M茅tis governments in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

It was meant to be a means of creating a new relationship between M茅tis and the federal government, but soon devolved into questions about who should be considered M茅tis after a pressure campaign from First Nations who took issue with the Ontario group.

The future of that legislation is uncertain with a legal challenge and without unanimous support for the bill by Metis nation organizations included in the bill.

SA国际影视传媒淭he federal government has a responsibility to find a way to make (self-government) happen, working alongside our M茅tis governments,SA国际影视传媒� said Caron.

Obed has been begging the federal government to have a conversation about identity for years over a group he says is fraudulently claiming to be Inuit.

He says the federal government is being overly risk-averse about wanting to determine who is Indigenous, despite mounting pressure from Indigenous leaders for the government to follow their lead and their understanding of histories.

SA国际影视传媒淭his conversation is defining the future of Canada, and I donSA国际影视传媒檛 say this in a way thatSA国际影视传媒檚 meant to be overstated,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e in for another wave of dispossession based on non-Indigenous Canadians choosing to be Indigenous to take what they feel is theirs.SA国际影视传媒�

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree says confirming Indigenous rights is an SA国际影视传媒渁rduous process.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淢ake no mistake, the role of the Canadian government is not to be the arbiter of Indigenous identity,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淩ather, the work that ISA国际影视传媒檓 trying to do is to ensure that anyone whoSA国际影视传媒檚 asserting that identity gets a fair process, one that is guided by Section 35 (of the Charter) but also historical records that can confirm their identity.SA国际影视传媒�

Child welfare

Child welfare is another major area of contention.

The federal government triumphantly announced in July that it had reached a $47.8-billion agreement with First Nations to reform the on-reserve child welfare system. The settlement came after years of litigation at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal over chronic underfunding of those systems.

Woodhouse Nepinak billed it as a win for the federal government in the effort to materially change the lives of First Nations kids.

But the victory is not certain: The deal has caused fractures among chiefs, some of whom think it doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 go far enough. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 set to go to a vote at a special AFN assembly in October.

Another piece of legislation chiefs say could change the lives of First Nations is Bill C-61, which was co-developed with First Nations to ensure communities have clean water and can protect the source-water on their territories.

But the bill has stalled at a House of Commons committee, and many chiefs have questioned whether Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu believes First Nations have a right to clean drinking water.

She didnSA国际影视传媒檛 answer that question directly in an interview, but said the committee has heard SA国际影视传媒渁 variety of different amendmentsSA国际影视传媒� along that line. She said she is open to adopting any changes that strengthen the goal of the bill, which is SA国际影视传媒渢o make sure that First Nations have access to clean drinking waterSA国际影视传媒� and control over that water.

Asked whether she has confidence that bill will be made law before the next election, Hajdu lamented the fact that the NDP ended the supply-and-confidence agreement that has kept her minority government in power for over two years.

SA国际影视传媒淢y goal is to have this, hopefully, to Senate by December,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淭hat will entirely be dependent on the speed of the opposition parties and whether or not theySA国际影视传媒檙e going to play games in the House, as they did last spring, which delayed the debate on the legislation.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒楾oothlessSA国际影视传媒� bill

The government did pass a bill creating a National Council for Reconciliation earlier this year but Obed wishes it had not become law.

The council, which is intended to fulfil a call to action from the Truth and Reconciliation CommissionSA国际影视传媒檚 final report, will monitor and report on the federal governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 progress toward reconciliation. It has seats for all three national Indigenous organizations.

But Obed, who has billed the council as SA国际影视传媒渢oothless,SA国际影视传媒� said his organization is debating whether to put forward a name for it at all.

SA国际影视传媒淲e feel that this particular body may actually cause a threat to our continued work on reconciliation based on who may or may not be appointed, and based on what the government of Canada chooses to do with the recommendations and reports that are given back,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

He said he worries the council could be SA国际影视传媒渨eaponized to be the authoritative position of Indigenous Peoples that the government of Canada then says it is working on or has achieved reconciliation from.SA国际影视传媒�

Anandasangaree defended the council, saying it will not replace current accountability structures between national Indigenous organizations and the federal government.

SA国际影视传媒淩econciliation is hard, and reconciliation is not a passive exercise,SA国际影视传媒� Anandasangaree said.

He said itSA国际影视传媒檚 going to take time and a significant amount of effort. SA国际影视传媒淎nd ISA国际影视传媒檝e said it before many times: itSA国际影视传媒檚 going to take every successive government coming forward from now onward to be on this path.SA国际影视传媒�

Obed hopes if there is a change in government after the next election, the momentum Indigenous leaders and the Liberals have worked so hard to create isnSA国际影视传媒檛 all for naught.

SA国际影视传媒淚f youSA国际影视传媒檙e talking about the federal government, the language they speak is legislative SA国际影视传媒� particular policies and orders of engagement,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淎nd if all of this was just because people decided to be nice when they didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have to, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 an unfortunate interpretation of what weSA国际影视传媒檙e all doing.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒擝y Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press