Governor Common Mary Simon speaks at an occasion to mark Worldwide Inuit Day and to rename a park in honour of deceased Inuk artist Annie Pootoogook in Ottawa on Nov. 7, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
OTTAWA --
Canada's first Indigenous Governor Common, inside months of being appointed to the position, requested authorities officers define what departments have been doing to permit First Nations to maneuver away from the Indian Act.
Mary Simon, an Inuk chief, diplomat and negotiator, was sworn in final July because the nation's thirtieth Governor Common.
Her appointment as the primary Indigenous individual to the workplace made historical past, and got here at a time when Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities have been reeling from the invention of lots of of unmarked graves at former residential college websites.
Simon, who was born in Kangiqsualujjuaq, within the Nunavik area of northern Quebec, made advancing the nation's reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a precedence.
A glimpse at what that appears like behind the closed doorways of Rideau Corridor was not too long ago revealed in paperwork launched to The Canadian Press beneath federal entry to info laws.
Briefing notes present Simon met with the deputy minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations final August to debate what position she might play "in Indigenous points and reconciliation as a complete."
One other assembly occurred that October between Simon and the identical deputy minister in addition to the deputy minister of Indigenous Providers Canada to debate the Indian Act.
"The Governor Common is serious about being up to date on the necessary work underway … with respect to the Indian Act," reads a briefing be aware ready for one of many officers.
"Particularly, how (departments) are offering alternatives for First Nations to succeed inside the laws, or to maneuver away from it partially or totally."
Though most Canadians see a governor normal, who serves because the Queen's consultant, as enjoying a largely ceremonial position and needing to attend a wide range of public occasions, they'll additionally exert "mushy affect," mentioned Carleton College professor and parliamentary knowledgeable Philippe Lagassé.
"Not everyone simply desires to be a potted plant," he mentioned.
"Behind closed doorways, if a viceregal consultant desires to push ministers, deputy ministers, first ministers on one thing, they're definitely inside their rights to take action — that is a part of the job."
What Simon might have needed to say in regards to the Indian Act — which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged he desires to see finish as Indigenous leaders have lengthy panned it as being colonial and paternalistic — will stay a secret, given the character of the workplace.
"Consistent with their non-partisan position, governors normal don't touch upon laws," Rideau Corridor spokeswoman Ciara Trudeau mentioned in an electronic mail.
"It's not in our follow to share particulars of personal conferences."
She added that Simon often meets with these inside of presidency and out to debate her priorities, which embody reconciliation, local weather change, youth and psychological well being.
By way of what Crown-Indigenous Relations officers really feel a governor normal can do to advance reconciliation, the briefing be aware says they'll carry Indigenous and non-Indigenous folks collectively.
"The Governor Common fulfils this accountability by visiting First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities throughout Canada; by celebrating Indigenous achievements and milestones alongside these of non-Indigenous Canadians; and by drawing consideration to the contributions of Indigenous Peoples all through Canadian historical past," it reads.
An accompanying presentation ready for the October assembly with Simon contains an summary of the previous makes an attempt to reform the Indian Act, in addition to the challenges confronted by First Nations wanting to maneuver away from it and the institution of contemporary treaties and self-government agreements.
Dalhousie College regulation professor Naiomi Metallic, who's Mi’kmaq and an knowledgeable in Indigenous regulation and coverage, notes that Simon, being Inuk, "would have grown up beneath a unique set of colonial circumstances that have been barely totally different from the Indian Act."
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed March 16, 2022
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