Bill C-77, An Act respecting the Commissioner for Modern Treaty Implementation, received first reading in the House of Commons on Oct. 10.
“In developing Bill C-77, we engaged with over 130 groups, including Indigenous Modern Treaty partners, Indigenous groups negotiating Modern Treaties, Self-Government Arrangement holders, Sectoral Agreement holders, National Indigenous Organizations and colleagues in provincial and territorial governments,” Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Gary Anandasangaree said in an Oct. 10 statement.
“For decades, Indigenous partners have called for an independent oversight body to hold the federal government accountable for its Modern Treaty commitments,” he added. “Today represents a significant milestone in this shared journey toward reconciliation.”
Anandasangaree noted that creation of the commissioner’s role contributes to the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and advances measure 9 of the declaration’s action plan.
The government published a policy document in May 2023 titled “Canada’s Collaborative Modern Treaty Implementation Policy,” which included a commitment to developing independent oversight mechanisms.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the creation of the commissioner’s role in May of this year during the second annual meeting of self-governing Indigenous governments. The 2024 federal budget allocated $10.6 million over four years to establish and run the office. The commissioner will be an independent agent of Parliament.
Modern treaties provide Indigenous groups with an alternative to governance under the federal Indian Act, enabling them to create their own laws and policies, including those related to child welfare and land matters. So far, 25 self-government agreements have been negotiated across Canada encompassing 43 Indigenous communities along with two education agreements involving 35 Indigenous communities.
Among other tasks, the commissioner for modern treaty implementation, who has yet to be chosen, could help prevent delays in putting the agreements into action and will provide expert knowledge on modern treaties. The commissioner will also report to Parliament regularly and will hold the government accountable for its treaty obligations.
In a May 2023 blog post following the release of the policy document, University of Calgary law professor David Wright called the new policy a “significant development of the modern treaties law and policy landscape.”
“It represents a basis for a non-incremental step change in treaty implementation that moves the federal government away from problematic narrow and technical interpretations of treaty commitments and treaty relationships,” he added.
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