Reconciliation is an important issue in the upcoming election for some N.W.T. voters who say they want the next federal government to protect and advance Indigenous rights.
“We’re not anywhere near complete with the work that Canada and provinces need to do – or the territorial government for that matter – to recognize and to actually ameliorate the kind of damage that was done,” said Georges Erasmus, former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
There are four parties with candidates running to the next N.W.T. MP. Rebecca Alty is running for the Liberals, Angela Davidson — also known as Rainbow Eyes — is running for the Greens, Kimberly Fairman for the Conservatives and Kelvin Kotchilea for the NDP.
All parties have some mention of reconciliation in their platforms.
Out of the 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Report, only 14 have been completed – according to a CBC tracker last updated at the end of March. This ranges from child welfare and education to language and culture to health and justice. The majority of the calls are in progress with projects either underway or proposed. For 17 calls, progress has not been started.
Some N.W.T. voters say more needs to be done to advance reconciliation and they want to hear from candidates about how they would protect Indigenous rights.
“I feel like we’re always left [by] the wayside,” said Sharon Allen from Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation. “If you look around the Indigenous communities, we’re the First Peoples and we’re not even mentioned as First Peoples in the election, in the campaigns.”
Drug crisis, housing and education among key issues
Allen previously ran for Nahendeh MLA in the 2023 N.W.T. election. She said she doesn’t yet know who she will vote for in this election, but she wants the next federal government to support the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, invest in clean drinking water, address the mental health crisis in Indigenous communities and protect the rights of Indigenous people for housing and education.
“In today’s society, Indigenous peoples are still fighting for housing, still fighting for education,” Allen said. “For me, reconciliation means that you need to recognize. And yes, there was an apology, but you know, it’s lip service. I just feel like it’s lip service.”
Erasmus said he’s heard most parties mention reconciliation during the campaign, but he hopes the work will continue once the election is over. He is currently involved in the Dehcho Process to negotiate and clarify Dehcho First Nation’s land, resource and self-government rights in the N.W.T. He wants the next federal government to improve that negotiating process as part of its commitment to reconciliation.
“We really need to up our game in terms of the number of negotiating sessions we have per year,” Erasmus said. “We might have six sessions of three days in a given 12 month period. That is 18 days of negotiations…. There doesn’t seem to be any urgency, any seriousness in trying to resolve these issues.”
Dennis Nelner of Fort Simpson says reconciliation has taken “a backseat” in recent years and he wants the next federal government to address the drug crisis in Indigenous communities.
“You need a government that’s going to deal with the issues in the communities … Our number one barrier for economic development is the drug crisis that’s going around in every little Indigenous community in N.W.T. and down south,” he said.
Nelner says he thinks the Conservative Party could address the drug crisis “far more efficiently.”
“This is a crisis that has been ignored totally and our people are suffering because of it,” he said.
Nelner said he also wants the next federal government to invest in education and provide more affordable housing options in small northern communities.
“If you’re a small, rural northern community, there’s absolutely no investment,” Nelner said. “The lack of services and cost of living are driving people away from this community.”
