Carolyn Bennett, minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, said consultations will include rethinking what constitutes a nation, a term whose current definition dates back to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in the mid-1990s. Quebec’s Indigenous affairs minister, Geoffrey Kelley, said his government had little warning before the proposed framework was announced but is prepared to come to the table. Kelley defended his government’s track record on empowering Indigenous governments, pointing to the school boards, health agencies and regional police forces that exist in some Cree and Inuit communities. Quebec has a role to play in enhancing Indigenous autonomy within areas of provincial authority, including health, natural resources and education, he said. In her keynote address to Quebec Indigenous leaders, Bennett described the treaty negotiation process as flawed in the way it pits the government against Indigenous groups through long and costly court battles.

Source: National Post February 15, 2018 16:30 UTC