Die Kanadier auf den indigenen Rechten in dem, was der BC -Führer als „schädliche“ Umfrage bezeichnet, geteilt
Canadians divided on Indigenous rights in what B.C. leader calls ‘harmful’ poll
Die Kanadier auf den indigenen Rechten in dem, was der BC -Führer als „schädliche“ Umfrage bezeichnet, geteilt
Canadians divided on Indigenous rights in what B.C. leader calls ‘harmful’ poll
7 Kommentare
I’m extremely pro indigenous rights, but recent events have made me believe that we’re heading to a point where indigenous rights may actually become an electoral issue (at least here in BC where unlike the rest of Canada, there aren’t treaties). Tensions are slowly rising – we can’t ignore what’s being said in social media or in our legislatures.
Take the closure of [Joffre Lakes provincial park](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/joffre-lakes-closure-first-nations-frustrated-august-2025-1.7614385) for example. First Nations are disappointed that it won’t be closed for a few months, because the province wanted to compromise and close it for one month instead. Keep in mind, a lot of people already believe that one month is too long. My opinion is that, by complaining about this, they are turning public sentiment against them and creating the very conditions that can cause us to have a major backslide on indigenous rights.
The criticism I have for First Nations nowadays is the same I have for the rabidly pro oil and gas folks: they don’t seem to want to compromise at all. It’s an all or nothing mentality. If they can’t have everything they want, then everybody should have nothing.
I worry that this will take us to a point where it could be a viable electoral position to reduce indigenous rights in this country (via constitutional amendment or other vehicle), but it doesn’t have to be this way. We can get to the point where we live in harmony with First Nations people and use their cultural practices for conservation and land rehabilitation, but at the same time I don’t think it’s viable in the long term for our economy to grant a veto to communities that often don’t even agree within themselves on a given position.
Instead of relying on the courts to give direction, we need to have a legal standard/definition of what consultation is/should be, and we need to definitely settle the issue of Aboriginal title once and for all.
> others push back (45 per cent), saying Indigenous Peoples should have the same status as others living in modern Canada
The idea of equal rights should not be considered „harmful“.
„When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.“
Perfect opportunity for Alberta to cut a deal with tribes and get a land corridor to Prince Rupert.
No need to compensate existing land owners!
Terry Teegee is right. This poll used loaded language designed to make shallow talking points.
What does it mean to ask „Do Indigenous Peoples have a unique status in Canada?“ Is it like asking „does Quebec have a unique culture?“ Is it a question of the law, as to what is or is not presently established under various acts? It’s a wording where a ‚yes‘ or ’no‘ answer really comes down to how the reader interprets it, and it shouldn’t be any surprise Canadians would wind up split almost 50/50. „Canadians are divided“ on what the heck this question is even supposed to mean.
The survey goes on to ask whether Indigenous Canadians should integrate more fully into broader Canadian society or strengthen their cultural traditions, as if those were somehow mutually exclusive. Imagine asking a question like this about French Canadians, or Jewish Canadians. It’s like asking „should Alberta try to become more like the Rest of Canada, or keep funding the Calgary Stampede?“ It’s absurd to treat these as opposites. Even framing them that way isn’t asking a question, it’s making a rhetorical statement.
Terry Teegee is right. Our national discourse about indigenous people should be about the humanitarian catastrophe ongoing in so many indigenous communities. It should be about how the legal limbo created by Delgamuukw v British Columbia has been allowed to go on too long, and that we need a finalized treaty process so that that legal limbo doesn’t swallow up every land use in the province of British Columbia. But through either malice, or hopefully, incompetence, these poll questions distract from these issues, and draw us further away from any meaningful progress or discussion on them. It is, as Teegee puts it, ‚harmful‘, both to indigenous people, and to a small extent to the Canadian polity at large.
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The problem is that the government has failed to explain honestly to the general public where we are going with indigenous rights and reconciliation efforts. Indigenous peoples have been recognized by the courts and the Provincial/Federal Governments through the adoption of UNDRIP, as the ultimate owners of BC. Basically bands can, and probably will at some point, restrict access to all Crown Land in BC. People who grew up here thought all this public land would last forever, but that is not how the world works. No place has has that. None of the Eastern US, Europe, or Latin America has public land and the world hasn’t ended. Virtually every piece of countryside not in private hands in Mexico for example is owned by an ejido. Huge parts of Colombia, which is about the size of BC, are completely off limits without special permission. The difference here is that even in parks (and probably most private lands) Indigenous groups have ultimate sovereignty.
This will eventually end with the constitution being opened and all native specific rights removed if the plan is to claim peoples private property