EFN Readers willing to give Trudeau time, benefit of the doubt
- EFN Staff | October 05, 2017
Last week, readers voted in our web poll answering the question ‘Do you think Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's UN speech regarding Indigenous issues in Canada was sincere?’ It was a tie-breaker with 33.33% answering ‘monumental change takes time. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and wait and see what happens’ and 33.33% voted ‘At least he ain’t Trump,’ while 22.22% voted yes, ‘he seems serious about building a nation-to-nation relationship’ and 11.11% voted ‘No, actions speak louder than words, and he hasn’t done much for Indigenous issues lately.’
On September 21st, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed Canada’s relationship to Indigenous peoples at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. In his speech, he acknowledged Canada’s treatment towards Indigenous people stating that Canada remains a work in progress.
“For First Nations, Metis Nation and Inuit peoples in Canada, those early colonial relationships were not about strength through diversity, or a celebration of our differences,” he said in his speech. “For Indigenous Peoples in Canada, the experience was mostly one of humiliation, neglect, and abuse.”
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In his speech, Trudeau spoke of the failures of the Canadian governments to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada – calling it a great shame.
“We are working closely with Indigenous Peoples in Canada to better respond to their priorities, to better understand how they see and define self-determination, and to support their work of nation rebuilding,” he said. “We have been working hard, in partnership with other orders of government, and with Indigenous leaders in Canada, to correct past injustices and bring about a better quality of life for Indigenous Peoples in Canada.”
He ended his speech reciting Canada’s commitment to continue strengthen its partnership with Indigenous peoples.
“In Canada, this means new relationships between the government of Canada and Indigenous Peoples – relationships based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership,” he said. “Recently, we made changes to our own government structures, to help with the transition to these new relationships with Indigenous Peoples.”