In an electoral announcement, conservative leader Pierre Poilievre speaks of a bust by John A. Macdonald about the importance of developing national projects such as the Canadian Pacific Railroad.
“What do you think, Prime Minister? Could you build the railroad today?” Pailievre asks the bust.
It is only the way Pailievre has expressed his admiration for the first Prime Minister of Canada: the man who built the railroad, but did so by moving indigenous peoples using hunger and detention, and who was also a key defender of the residential school system.
The lawyer of Métis, Bruce Mcivor, partner of the Law of First Peoples, says it is a worrying admiration.
“Pailievre dreams of being a 21st century John A. Macdonald, and we can see that in what he has said so far,” he said.
Pailievre has referred to Macdonald in multiple campaign speeches in this election. Over the years, he has also made publications on social networks that celebrated Macdonald’s birthday, spoke about the need for more statues of the former prime minister and, in 2012, dressed in period clothes to announce the name change of an Ottawa building after Macdonald.
In the two and a half years since he became leader of the Conservative Party, Pailievre’s tone towards indigenous voters has focused on the development of resources and economic reconciliation, but some indigenous defenders say they are concerned about their history on issues such as residential schools and indigenous rights.
Residential school apology
The same day in 2008 that Stephen Harper made a historical apology to the alumni of the residential school system, Pailievre told an Ottawa Talk radio program, the survivors did not need more compensation, but instead required a better work ethics.
“Together with this apology comes another $ 4 billion in compensation for those who participate in residential schools during those years. Now, some of us are beginning to ask, are we really obtaining value for all this money,” he said?
“My opinion is that we need to generate the values of hard work, independence and self -sufficiency.”
The next day, he was called in the Parliament to make his own apologies, which he did.
Voted against an Undrip bill
During a 2021 debate on the bill to make Canadian laws consisting of the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, Poilievre said, “I am very proud to say that I oppose this bill.” He said that the free, prior and informed consent, a phrase that appears repeatedly in Undrip, “would mean a veto” for any first nation that opposed a resource development project.
Finally he voted against the bill.
When Pailievre went to the assembly of the first nations for the first time in person last summer, Judy Wilson, former head of the Indian Band of Neskonlith and former executive member of the BC union of BC of BC Indian Chiefs, was one of Pailievre’s critics.
In addition to his concerns about his lack of support for Undrip, Wilson said that Poilievre did not approach the missing and murdered indigenous women, the rights of treaties or climate change in his speech.
She said that she is still concerned about her position on Undrip and free, prior and informed consent on issues that affect indigenous peoples, their lands and their communities.
The question of consent and consultation arose again when Pailievre visited the Arctic in February. On the trip, he announced plans to create a new military base in Nunavut if a conservative government is chosen, but Prime Minister PJ Akeogok said Pailievre had not consulted with the northern before the announcement.
Electoral promises
A legend for Facebook’s announcement with Poilievre talking to Macdonald’s bust said the conservatives “would honor Sir John A. Macdonald and would link our country with a national energy corridor in Canada.”
The energy corridor will be “previously approved for pipes, rail lines, electric lines and another resource infrastructure,” says Pailievre in the announcement.
Mcivor said he is worried about that.
“The government cannot present proposals that have been determined,” he said, pointing out the duty to consult the indigenous peoples affirmed by the Supreme Court.
“Therefore, listening to the conservative leader to say that they intend to see the green light projects before they have consulted with indigenous peoples is very worrying.”
Along the same lines, Pailievre has said that it would grant permits for mining projects in the Ontario Fire Ring within six months of being chosen.
These rapid approvals, together with “energy corridor projects” prior to approval “are completely contrary to the fundamental principles of constitutional law,” said McIVOR.
CBC Indigenous sent a list of questions to the conservative campaign on the Poilievre registration and its current policies.
A spokesman for the conservative campaign provided a statement that did not answer directly to any of the indigenous CBC questions, but said that Pailievre has prioritized to speak with indigenous leaders and community members to inform the policies of their campaign.
The energy corridor was one of the two policies highlighted by the spokesman.
The other policy was the position of resources of the first nations, which was developed by the Tax Commission of the first bipartisan nations, and would allow the first nations to opt for the opportunity to directly tax resource development projects in their lands.
Ch’íyáqtel (Tzeachten) Derek (Weli’leq) EPP, who works with the Tax Commission of the first nations, said the commission presented the policy to multiple parties.
“With the conservatives who support this, yes, he sends an important sign that Canada is committed to indigenous economic justice,” he said.
While conservatives have been the only ones to adopt it directly, EPP said that he has also seen parts in liberal policies.
“It’s great that the conservative government is defending this, but this is not new,” said EPP, adding that the idea has existed for more than a decade.
When the conservatives announced the policy proposed in 2023, a critic called “a great idea for the 1990s.”
Concerns about the position of resources
John Desjarlais, Executive Director of the Network of Indigenous Resources, a non -partisan organization that promotes economic development, said he is satisfied with the focus of the position of resources, especially because he respects the autonomy of the first nations.
However, he said that there are some concerns about how politics will apply.
“I think there is concern that [the relationship between community and industry] They will lose and lose their ability to negotiate and develop the things that care about them, “said Desjar her, who is Cree-Métis.
Since the policy was announced for the first time, it has not been clear if it would allow nations to impose projects on their traditional territories or only in reserve lands.
EPP said the resource tax should be applied to traditional territories, calling that “essential for the proposal.”
Desjar it said that if it only applied to reserves: “We would certainly be less excited or less interested because its application would be much less shocking.”
While expecting to rationalize some of the bureaucratic processes and accelerate the terms of the project, Desjar it said that politics presents concerns about the potential for governments to download their responsibilities in the consultation.
EPP said he has no concern about the government that abdicates his obligations with the first nations.
“There is still the right to unravel,” he said.
Desjaris said that it is encouraged to see “less government, less paternalism, less diversion of resources that can come directly to communities”, from the conservative adoption of resource tax policy.
However, he said, during a campaign it is difficult to know what is real and what is rhetoric.
“Will those promises be honored? In general, I think that is our concern,” said Desjaris.
