To what extent has Canada
affirmed collective rights?
“What are collective
rights?”
•Rights held by Canadians who belong
to one of several groups in society.
•They are recognized and protected by
Canada’s constitution.
“Why do only some people
have collective rights?”
•Collective rights recognize the
founding peoples of Canada.
•Canada wouldn’t exist today
without the contribution of these
peoples.
“So, who holds collective rights
in Canada?”
•Aboriginal peoples, including First
Nations, Metis and Inuit people
•Francophones including the Metis
•Anglophones
FIRST NATIONS COLLECTIVE RIGHTS
THE NUMBERED TREATIES
These medals were
struck to
commemorate the
Numbered Treaties.
This medal dates from
1874. The images are
meant to convey a
specific message.
What was it? What
clues are there in the
images?
Eleven "Numbered Treaties" were
signed between 1871 and 1921 as the
Canadian government began to pursue
settlement, farming and resource
development in the west and north of
the country.
The terms of the treaties differed,
but in most cases First Nations
agreed to share their land and
resources in exchange for
education, hunting and fishing
rights, reserves, farming assistance
and annuities.
For example, Treaty 7
made provisions for one
square mile of land for
each Indian family, plus a
limited supply of cattle,
some farm equipment
(one plow for each band)
and a small amount of
treaty and ammunition
money.
The treaty also made limited commitments
on the part of the Queen to provide
education for children and in some cases,
medical services.
RESERVES
This map
shows the
location of
First Nation
reserves in
Alberta.
Land set
aside for the
exclusive use
of First
Nations
Both the Canadian government
and the First Nations had their
own reasons for signing the
Numbered Treaties. Use the
following pictures to determine
what the reasons could have been.
The eradication of the
buffalo meant social and
economic upheaval for
some First Nations peoples.
They saw the Treaties as a
way to secure their future.
•BC had joined Confederation on the
condition that Canada would build a
railway within ten years to link the
province with the rest of Canada.
•The railway also allowed a large number
of immigrants to migrate to Canada’s
West in hopes of a better life. They had
been promised land by the government.
•Both of these issues required that
Canada obtain land from the First
Nations.
Small pox
epidemics had
taken a horrible
toll on the First
Nations both
socially and
economically.
Both First Nations and Canada’s government
wanted to avoid wars over territory like those
happening in the United States. The treaties
provided a peaceful way of meeting the needs
of both groups.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Do you feel that the needs of both parties the Canadian government and the First
Nations - were equal? Did one group need
the Treaties more than the other?
Did both groups benefit equally??
The perspective of each group
played a role in how they
negotiated and interpreted the
Treaties:
Treaty negotiations took place in
several languages and relied on
interpreters. Sometimes meaning
or connotation was lost in the
translation and the two parties
came away with a different view of
what had been agreed to.
First Nations recorded the Treaties in
their own language as oral histories
while Canada’s government recorded
them in written English. What problems
could arise from this?
Sometimes the oral history and
the written word don’t agree.
First Nations never believed that land
could be “owned” - they did not
understand the European practice of
fencing land - and therefore, see the
Treaties as an agreement to share the
land with the Canadian government;
however, the government believes the
First Nations gave up their land under
the Treaties.
Treaty Number Six has a provision for health
care. One clause allows a medicine chest to be
kept in the Indian agent’s home for the use and
benefit of the First Nations. Some people felt that
this provision extended to everyone who signed
the Numbered Treaties. Others went so far as to
later interpret this provision as an eternal
promise by the government to provide free health
care to all First Nations people in Canada.
“What collective rights do
official language groups have
under the Charter?”
What are official language
minorities?
• Canada has two official languages, English
and French
• French is spoken predominantly in Quebec
• In Nunavut, Inuktitut is predominantly
spoken
• But what makes a language a minority?
• Minority means a small group within a
larger group
• Francophones (people who speak French)
who live in Alberta are considered to be
part of a language minority
• Francophone schools affirm the identity of
Francophone students, their families, and
their communities
• Anglophones (people who speak English)
are considered a language minority in
Quebec
• There are Francophone schools throughout
Canada just as there are Anglophone
schools throughout Quebec
What are the Charter rights of
official language groups?
• Official bilingualism: sections 16 to 20 of
the Charter establish French and English as
official languages of Canada, and the right
of Canadian citizens to conduct their affairs
with the federal government in either
official language
• These sections also establish New
Brunswick as an officially bilingual
province
Continued
• Minority language education rights: section 23 of
the Charter says that a French-speaking or
English-speaking minority population of sufficient
size in any province has the right to publicly
funded schools that serve their language
community
• this made it possible for Francophones to maintain
their own education rights in a predominantly
English-speaking nation
Official Languages Act
• The Official Languages Act of 1969 stated that: “French and English
to be the official languages of Canada, and under which all federal
institutions must provide their services in English or French at the
customer's choice. The Act (passed following the recommendation of
the Royal Commission on BILINGUALISM AND
BICULTURALISM) created the office of Commissioner of Official
Languages to oversee its implementation. Politically, the Act has been
supported by all federal parties, but the public's understanding and
acceptance of it has been mixed. In June 1987 the Conservative
government introduced an amended Official Languages Act to
promote official language minority rights.”
The Metis: descendants of First
Nations peoples and French
settlers
• The Metis are one of Canada’s Aboriginal
peoples under Canada’s constitution
• However, unlike the First Nations, the
Metis do not have any historic treaties with
Canada’s government
• They believe they have inherent rights,
which are rights they have strictly because
they are First Peoples
Metis
• Today, the Metis are represented in Canada
by several organizations
• Two are in Alberta: the Metis Nation of
Alberta and the Metis Settlements General
Council
• The Metis speak French, therefore they are
Francophones
What laws recognize the
collective rights of the Metis?
• Quick timeline:
• 1869-1870: Metis-led Red River Resistance resulted in the
Manitoba Act, passed by Canada’s parliament, which
made Manitoba a bilingual province and gave land rights
to the Metis people
• 1875-1879: Canada’s government changed its mind and
instead offered issued “scrip” to the Metis, which was a
document that could be exhanged for land. In other words,
instead of establishing Metis lands in Manitoba, they gave
them a choice: accept scrip or become Treaty Indians
under the Numbered Treaties (which do you think they
would want?)
• 1885: the Northwest Resistance sought to protect
Metis lands in what is today Saskatchewan where
the railway was being laid and settlers were
moving in
• Two different interpretations of this event: the
Metis view it as a way to assert their rights, the
government saw it as a threat to their authority
• 1938: after being forced to move their settlements
constantly over a long period, L’Association des
Metis de l’Alberta et des Territoires du NordOuest lobbied Alberta’s government to set aside
land for the Metis
• Alberta’s government then passed the Metis
Population Betterment Act, which
established twelve temporary Metis
settlements
• 1940-1960: unfortunately, these settlements
still did not give the Metis control of their
land and were closed when the land became
less useful for farming and hunting
• 1982: the Metis lobbied for recognition of
Metis rights in Canada’s constitution and
were successful
• Finally, in 1990, Alberta’s government enacted
legislation under which the Metis received the
Metis settlements as a permanent land base with
the right to manage their own affairs. The
legislation included:
• Constitution of Alberta Amendment Act
• Metis Settlements Accord Implementation Act
• Metis Settlements Act
• Metis Settlements Land Protection Act
• 2003: Supreme Court ruled that the Metis have the
right to hunt and fish as one of Canada’s
Aboriginal peoples under the constitution
How do the Metis see their
rights?
• In 1996, the president of the
Metis Nation of Alberta,
Audrey Poitras said: “One of
the fundamental aspects of
Metis rights is our ability to
define ourselves. It’s not up
to the government, or nonMetis people, to define who
is Metis. Only the Metis
Nation itself can make those
kinds of distinctions.”
Different Perspectives of the
Treaties and of Collective Rights
in Canada
The following are quotes and ideas taken from different
points in history from different perspectives concerning those
who hold collective rights in Canada. From whose
perspective are they from?
1876
“What I will promise, and what I believe and hope you will
take, is to last as long as the sun shines and the rivers flow....I
see the Queen’s Councillors taking the Indian by the hand
saying we are brothers, we will lift you up, we will teach you,
if you will learn, the cunning of the white man....I see Indians
gathering, I see gardens growing and houses building; I see
them receiving money from the Queen’s commissioners to
purchase clothing for their children; at the same time, I see
them enjoying their hunting and fishing as before, I see them
retaining their old modes of living with the Queen’s gift in
addition.”
1876
“What we speak of will last as long as the sun
shines and the river runs. We are looking to
the future of our children’s children.”
1879
“Residential schools allow “aggressive
civilization” by separating the children
from the parents....Residential schools
make a certain degree of civilization
within the reach of Indians despite the
deficiencies of their race....The Indians
realize they will disappear.”
1939
“The economic adjustment of the
Indians to modern life is a large
problem. We need to make the
Indians lead the normal life of the
ordinary Canadian citizen.”
1946
“We made treaties with Great
Britain and the trust was given to the
Canadian government to live up to
our treaties. Ever since the first
Treaties, First Nations have felt that
Canadian officials have not
complied with those treaties.”
1970
“To preserve our culture it is necessary to
preserve our status, rights, lands and
traditions. Our treaties are the basis of
our rights....the treaties are historic,
moral, and legal obligations.....The
government must declare that it accepts
the treaties as binding.....”
1969
“Canada cannot be a just society and
keep discriminatory legislation on its
statute book. The barriers created by
special legislation, such as treaties, can
generally be struck down. The treaties
need to be reviewed to see how they can
be equitably ended.”
1982
“I speak of a Canada where men
and women of Aboriginal ancestry,
of French and British heritage, of
the diverse cultures of the world,
demonstrate the will to share this
land in peace, in justice, and with
mutual respect.”
“If Canada is to survive, it can
only survive in mutual respect
and in love for one another.”