REVISITING RCAP Towards Reconciliation: The Future of Indigenous Governance Symposium Discussion Paper October 2014 . REVISITING RCAP Towards Reconciliation: The Future of Indigenous Governance About the Institute on Governance Founded in 1990, the Institute on Governance (IOG) is an independent, Canada- based, not-for-profit public interest institution with its head office in Ottawa and offices in Vancouver and Toronto. Our mission is ‘advancing better governance in the public interest,’ which we accomplish by exploring, developing and promoting the principles, standards and practices which underlie good governance in the public sphere, both in Canada and abroad. Over the past 20 years, the IOG has undertaken over 1000 projects in Canada and 35 other countries. The Institute’s current activities fall within the broad themes: public governance, modernizing government, not-for-profit governance, health and innovation, and Indigenous governance. The IOG brings a very broad perspective and experience to Indigenous governance issues, having worked in all regions of the country and with many different stakeholders, including federal and provincial governments, First Nation, Métis and Inuit governments, groups and organizations, and private sector stakeholders. An Indigenous Advisory Circle, comprised of a variety of leaders from across the country, guides the Indigenous Governance practice area. Please visit our website at: www.iog.ca Institute on Governance – Ottawa Institute on Governance – Toronto 60 George Street 150 Bloor St West, Suite 200 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Toronto, Ontario, Canada K1N 1J4 M5S 2X9 Tel.: (613) 562-0090 or 0092 Tel: (647) 295-8506 Fax: (613) 562-0087 Fax: (416) 572-3736 Our Sponsors . Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples 1996 .......................................................................... 4 RCAP In Depth: Recommendations .............................................................................................. 6 Volume 2: Restructuring the Relationship ............................................................................................... 9 Volume 3: Gathering Strength ................................................................................................................... 16 Volumes 4 & 5: Perspectives and Realities; Renewal: A Twenty-Year Commitment ............. 18 Response from Aboriginal Leaders .................................................................................................. 19 Federal Government Response: Gathering Strength: Canada’s Aboriginal Action Plan ....... 19 Response from Aboriginal Leaders to Gathering Strength ......................................................... 20 Summary .............................................................................................................................................. 21 Developments Since the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples ................................. 23 Restructuring the Relationship ........................................................................................................ 25 Aboriginal Healing Foundation ................................................................................................................. 25 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement ............................................................................. 25 Truth and Reconciliation Commission .................................................................................................... 26 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ................................................ 27 Summary ............................................................................................................................................................ 27 Nation Building ................................................................................................................................... 28 First Nations Land Management Act ....................................................................................................... 28 Specific Claims Tribunal ............................................................................................................................... 28 Clarification of the Duty to Consult and Accommodate ................................................................... 29 Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia, 2014 SCC 44 ......................................................................... 31 Economic empowerment, lands, resources, wealth generation and redistribution .............. 33 Indigenous Institutions ................................................................................................................................. 33 Guidelines for Federal Officials to Fulfill the Duty to Consult ........................................................ 34 Federal Framework for Aboriginal Economic Development .......................................................... 34 Summary ............................................................................................................................................................ 35 Closing Social and Economic Gaps ................................................................................................... 36 The Family and Community ........................................................................................................................ 36 Health .................................................................................................................................................................. 37 Housing ............................................................................................................................................................... 38 Education ........................................................................................................................................................... 39 Summary ............................................................................................................................................................ 40 Recent Developments and Ongoing Priorities .......................................................................... 41 Canada-First Nations Joint Action Plan and Gathering ................................................................ 41 Idle No More ....................................................................................................................................... 42 Bill C-33: First Nations Control of Education Act ........................................................................... 43 Taking Action to Advance Treaty Negotiations and Reconciliation ........................................... 44 National Public Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women .................................. 45 . Charting a Course ................................................................................................................................ 46 Restructuring the Relationship ........................................................................................................ 47 Nation Building ................................................................................................................................... 47 Closing Social and Economic Gaps ................................................................................................... 48 Appendix A: Notable Legal Cases ................................................................................................... 49 Sparrow (identifying an aboriginal and treaty rights test) .............................................. 49 Van der Peet (narrowing the aboriginal rights test) ........................................................... 50 Delgamuukw (determining the nature of aboriginal title) .............................................. 51 R. v. Powley (determining the nature of Métis rights) ....................................................... 51 Haida Nation v. B.C. and Mikisew (clarifying duty to consult) .......................................... 53 Platinex (providing support for capacity) .............................................................................. 53 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................... 55 . INTRODUCTION "Our report contains hundreds of recommendations. As our mandate directed, we looked at all the major problems facing Aboriginal people in their relationship with Canada. Each has proved difficult to resolve. Together they look even more unmanageable. Or so we thought when we began our work. As we delved deeper, we came to appreciate the Commission's unique opportunity to approach the relationship between Canada and First Peoples in a new way - holistically. We realized that the usual strategy - tackling the problems one at a time, independently - is tantamount to putting a band-aid on a broken leg. Instead we propose a comprehensive agenda for change." – Renewal: A Twenty Year Commitment, Highlights from the Report of the Commission on Aboriginal Peoples In 2012 and 2013, in an effort to encourage constructive public dialogue regarding contemporary Canadian indigenous issues, the Institute on Governance (IOG) undertook a series of symposiums focused on Section 35 of the Constitution and