Bill C-15 Government Attempt to Subvert Indigenous Right to Sovereignty
- Philip Fernandez - 
On December
3, the Liberal government tabled Bill C-15, An Act
respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples (UNDRIP) in Parliament. In introducing the bill,
federal Minister of Justice David Lametti stated: "Working with First
Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to implement the
declaration and create a framework to achieve its objectives is a
statement that the Government of Canada values, respects and promotes
the human rights of all, and not just some [...] The legislation is a
significant step forward on the shared path to reconciliation for
Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples alike." In
light of the evidence, no one can be fooled by the Trudeau government's
shameless claim that Bill C-15 will advance the rights of Indigenous
peoples and promote reconciliation.  Bill C-15 brings
to mind the BC government's Bill 41, the Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act passed in November 2019. It
has done nothing to uphold the rights of Indigenous peoples in BC even
though the Horgan government claimed the same thing -- that Bill 41
"will move the province forward with a clear action plan for
reconciliation, supporting predictability and economic opportunities,
while respecting Indigenous human rights."
Far
from it, when governments in Canada speak about upholding the human
rights of Indigenous peoples they do not mean providing the right to
housing, water, health care and education with guarantees. Even the
basic human and Treaty right to potable water has been denied to many
Indigenous communities living in remote areas, including in Neskantaga
First Nation which has been under a "boil-water advisory" for close to
three decades. The Trudeau Liberals mean that Indigenous lands will
continue to be stolen out from under them such as the BC government is
doing by pushing through the Site C Dam in Treaty 8 territory, or the
state attacks carried out in the interests of private monopoly and
economic mega projects against the Wet'suwet'en people defending their
hereditary rights, or in Six Nations Territory for development purposes.
Since coming to power in 2015, the Trudeau Liberals have shown
in deeds that monopoly right trumps Indigenous rights when it comes to
Crown-Indigenous relations. During a webinar on December 9 held by the
Yellowhead Institute, one of the main points made by the speakers on
Bill C-15 is that the Canadian state at all levels is criminalizing and
targeting Indigenous peoples by presenting them as threats to Canadian
economic development and prosperity and using the courts to impose
injunctions and calling in paramilitary forces when Indigenous peoples
stand up for their sovereignty and right to be. As
for defending the rights of Indigenous peoples, the Trudeau Liberals
have continued to terrorize and criminalize Indigenous land defenders
from coast to coast when they stand up for their rights, and have
continued the surveillance of Indigenous political activities under the
RCMP's Project SITKA.[1]
 Like their
predecessors the Harper Conservatives, the Liberals continue
underfunding social programs for Indigenous families and children which
has impoverished and destabilized communities leading to more
Indigenous children being placed in state institutions.
In
June 2019, Trudeau acknowledged that the crimes against missing and
murdered Indigenous women and girls constituted "genocide" but his
government has done little to address this national crisis. Under
Trudeau's "feminist" administration in Ottawa, Indigenous women remain
the fastest-growing prison population in Canada. How can these facts be
reconciled with the Liberal's claim of Bill C-15 advancing the rights
of Indigenous peoples and representing a step towards reconciliation?
The Liberals typically speak about rights as abstractions,
devoid of meaning or any link with reality on the ground. These
abstractions are a provocation against the Indigenous peoples and
Canadians and Quebeckers as well who they seem to think do not see what
they are up to and, if they do, cannot hold them to account. What
goes around comes around and the crimes that the Canadian state has
committed and continues to commit against Indigenous peoples today will
not go unpunished. Bill C-15 is being pushed through Parliament at a
time when Crown-Indigenous relations are at an all-time low because
Canada has not upheld its obligations to Indigenous peoples, especially
when it comes to respecting their sovereignty. The Trudeau government
is carrying on the racist policy of the state, deciding what is good
and what is bad for Indigenous peoples. It controls their money -- owed
to them for the theft of the lands and resources they depend on for
their living. Underneath the sweet words of
reconciliation lies the sinister aim of further undermining the
sovereignty of Indigenous peoples and subverting the ever-growing
political unity and solidarity of the peoples of Canada and Quebec with
Indigenous peoples. Canada may hope to appear to comply with the
demands of the United Nations that it respect Indigenous rights and
clean up its sorry reputation as a colonial power, but facts are facts.
This kind of window-dressing has been tried many times in the past and
the waste of money in more PR campaigns is despicable. Government
actions, including the introduction of Bill C-15, cannot cover up the
colonial outlook which blocks the fulfillment of the aspirations of the
people who comprise Canada for a new and modern relationship with
Indigenous peoples based on the recognition of their sovereignty and
hereditary rights.  The title of the
December 9 webinar hosted by the Yellowhead Institute and other
organizations was "The Ransom Economy -- What Shutdown Canada Reveals
about Land Rights." It featured land-defenders from the Secwepemc,
Wet'suwet'en, Mohawk and Mi'kmaw nations. Spokesperson for the
Wet'suwet'en Molly Wickham noted that the Trudeau government's new law
on UNDRIP is "insurance for investors, its all a smokescreen to say we
are playing nice ... we're giving them [Indigenous peoples] a say ...
Governments are asking as well how are they going to implement UNDRIP?
Well, it is not up to them. It is up to us as Indigenous peoples ... we
decide how UNDRIP is going to be implemented. UNDRIP is going to be
implemented under our laws."
Skyler Williams,
speaking as a Mohawk land defender, observed that the stands the land
defenders have taken in defence of their sovereignty across Turtle
Island have been met with state violence, but have strengthened the
resolve of Indigenous peoples to assert their sovereignty with the
support of their allies across Turtle Island. This is a fitting
response to Bill C-15. Bill C-15 is a desperate
attempt by the Trudeau Liberals to shore up their credibility and lack
of legitimacy when it comes to Crown-Indigenous relations. No to Bill C-15!
Uphold the
Hereditary and Treaty Rights of Indigenous Peoples!
Respect
the Sovereignty of Indigenous Nations! Note
1.
Internal RCMP emails, memos, reports and documents acquired by CBC News
revealed the RCMP's "Project SITKA." The RCMP wanted to identify
specific activists who had been arrested, arrested and charged and
convicted, create profiles and links to organizations across the
country. After probing more than 300 activists, the RCMP came up with a
list of 89 -- Indigenous and non-Indigenous -- at the end of the
intelligence project, the CBC reported. According to the RCMP, these
people were "willing and capable of utilizing unlawful tactics" during
Indigenous rights protests in December 2012 to the end of 2013. The
project was allegedly wound up in March 2015. However, days before
Justin Trudeau announced the initial approval for the Trans Mountain
pipeline, the RCMP reactivated the so-called dormant list of Indigenous
rights activists it deemed potential "criminal threats." (APTN)
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 48 - December 12, 2020
Article Link:
Bill C-15: Government Attempt to Subvert Indigenous Right to Sovereignty - Philip Fernandez
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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