Conference looks back at RCAP

A decade has passed since the release of the final report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP). For three days in October, an impressive group of scholars, legal professionals, politicians and Elders came together to discuss the impact of the report and the developments in the arena or Aboriginal policy that have occurred over the past 10 years.
Making Aboriginal Policy: A Conference Ten Years After the Final Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was the theme of the Indigenous Bar Association's (IBA) 18th annual fall conference, held at the Delta Bessborough hotel in Saskatoon. The event was co-sponsored by the IBA and the University of Saskatchewan .
The opening address of the conference was presented by Paul Chartrand, a professor in the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan and a former commissioner of the RCAP. He thought the conference went very well.
"The presentations were made by very high quality people," he said, "Many of them the best in their areas, who also had the unique experience that was needed to provide important information to the participants."
One of the presenters was Scott Serson, president of the Public Service Commission of Canada, who was responsible for the federal government's response to RCAP. Also attending were senior policy analysts, as well as politicians such as former Saskatchewan premier Allan Blakeney.
This year's conference was one of the best attended in IBA history. The only major speaker who was invited to the conference who didn't attend was Jim Prentice, minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
The conference was chaired by U of S chancellor Tom Molloy and lawyer Don Worme. The format of the conference provided plenty of opportunities for input from all attendees. On the second and third day, plenary speeches were followed by panel discussions and then workshops that allowed everyone to get involved.
In his address to the conference, Chartrand reviewed the origins, mandate and work of the Royal Commission, then examined developments in Aboriginal policy in Canada. He called the current approach to Aboriginal policy in the country a "Smokey the Bear" approach since it merely stamps out fires as they arise.
Chartrand outlined the need for Aboriginal people to be active participants in the crafting of Aboriginal policy.
"Participation was a central principle adopted in the RCAP," he said. "We must make sure that Aboriginal people are effective participants in the development, design and implementation of Aboriginal policy that affects their interests ... Aboriginal people must be present wherever decisions are made that affect their interests, such as Crown corporations, public bodies or legislative bodies."
He also stressed the need for co-operation among Aboriginal people.
"Imagine if, for example, all the bands in Saskatchewan would aggregate their resources and establish co-operative institutions such as schools, not necessarily in urban areas, but perhaps sub-urban areas, such as Piapot reserve just outside of Regina," he said.
Co-operation is an important factor, Chartrand said, because it can help keep Aboriginal policy on the radar.
"Because we are only three per cent of the Canadian population, although heavily concentrated in places like Saskatchewan, we have no political clout."
One way to ensure Aboriginal participation and co-operation is part of Aboriginal policy making is to have someone in power who is willing to champion the cause, Chartrand said.
"Never underestimate the value of people who are devoted to an idea. But they must be in a significant decision-making position, which they achieve through participation."
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The other way it may happen is on its own, Paul Chartrand said. In Saskatchewan, he explained, the burgeoning Aboriginal population is eventually going to force change.
The conference also included a public debate on Aboriginal policy. Moderated by Tom Molloy, a variety of views were represented on this complex subject.
John Richards, originally from Saskatchewan but now an economist at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, presented a view based on the idea that the main relationship is between the state and the individual. His view does not focus on collective or group rights and therefore excludes Aboriginal rights.
Kiera Ladner, a professor at the University of Manitoba, spoke in opposition to the Royal Commission. Russell Diabo, author of the First Nations Strategic Bulletin who has a long-standing interest in policy, also attended.
Professor Peter Russell of the University of Toronto, who was a researcher during the Mackenzie Valley policy debate in the 1960s, demonstrated that the right thing is to do what the commission recommended. Nora Sanders, Saskatchewan's deputy minister of First Nations and Metis Relations was also in attendance, sharing her knowledge of current Aboriginal policy.
Don Worme said he was inspired by the conference and found the speakers and the conference itself to be both emotionally and intellectually challenging.
"I was pleased not only with the calibre of the speakers, but with the topics upon which they chose to speak and the manner in which they delivered their sentiments. The conference was a 10 year retrospective of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples hallmark report, to ensure that the momentum that was built up among Aboriginal people continues to be observed, and that we continue to look at ways to build upon the findings and the recommendations that were made in the report in terms of current policy development. The report has made its way into policy generally because the findings were so significant and they were quoted so often that it could not be ignored," Worme said.
"What the conference did for us primarily as an organization is it challenged us intellectually to be reflective upon the findings of the commission's report and to ensure that the massive amount of work that went into it, the stories of Aboriginal people from across the country, are not forgotten as we each go about our individual tasks as Indigenous lawyers. The inspirational aspect of it will live for a long time, not only in my mind but I'm sure in the minds of many."
Worme also noted the sense of optimism among the more than 200 delegates at the conference, "Optimism that the commission's findings would not be ignored. That it would not simply be a receptacle for dust ... the large contingency of students that attended reinforced the view that they certainly will not be ignoring it and they will continue to reflect upon this not only in their studies but when they get out into their own practices."
In addition to being a co-chair of the conference, Worme was also an honouree at the gathering. He joined an impressive group of individuals when he was named this year's recipient of the Indigenous Peoples' Counsel (IPC) designation, awarded annually by the IBA to an Aboriginal lawyer in recognition of outstanding achievements in the practice of law.
"It's a prestigious award," Worme said of the honour. "I join the ranks of some very much admired people, much admired by me and I know many others. Other recipients include James [Sakej] Youngblood Henderson, the director of the Native Law Centre at the U of S; Roberta Jamieson; Wilton Littlechild and Paul Chartrand, so to be nominated to join their august presence was a complete surprise, and very deeply moving."
Worme is a founding member and past president of the IBA. He practices law in Saskatoon, specializing in Aboriginal law.