After four years, the government has finally responded to the long-standing calls by Canadian Aboriginal peoples and the Liberal Party, and committed to ratifying the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“Canada has stood alone too long at the UN on this issue. We welcome the government’s decision to finally join with the rest of the world and endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” said Liberal Aboriginal Affairs Critic Todd Russell.
Today it was announced that the federal government formally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in a manner fully consistent with Canada’s Constitution and laws.
The declaration sets out the individual and collective rights of the world’s 370 million indigenous peoples. It calls for the strengthening of their cultural identities, and emphasizes their right to pursue development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations.
“This is the first step in a series of steps that the Conservatives need to make in order to earn back the trust of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples,” added Mr. Russell.
The Liberal Party has steadfastly supported the ratification of the Declaration and has repeatedly called on the Harper government to do the same. Liberals believe that today must be followed with concrete actions that will demonstrate their willingness to collaborate with Aboriginal Peoples.
“Liberals are committed to the socio-economic betterment of Aboriginal peoples. Not only for the achievement of social justice, but as one of Canada’s fastest growing populations, the success of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples is critical to our country’s economic well being,” said Mr. Russell. “The Liberal Party is committed to government-to-government partnerships with our aboriginal peoples that raise standards of living and empower communities at the local level.”
A future Liberal government is committed to investing in aboriginal education and removing the cap on funding growth for aboriginal post-secondary education. Liberals would also seek to reverse past wrongs by immediately calling a federal investigation into the hundreds of Aboriginal women and girls that have gone missing in recent years. We are also committed to ensuring that any Canadian Arctic Strategy is focused on the success of the people that actually live in
