Jody Wilson-Raybould 2017 Policy-Maker of the Year Putting Indigenous issues at the centre of Canadian politics - Macdonald-Laurier Institute

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Jody Wilson-Raybould 2017 Policy-Maker of the Year Putting Indigenous issues at the centre of Canadian politics - Macdonald-Laurier Institute
DECEMBER 2017

                        2017 Policy-Maker of the Year

      Jody Wilson-Raybould
                          Putting Indigenous issues at
                         the centre of Canadian politics

Also INSIDE :
The case for    Home-ownership   Reclaiming Canada’s       Dragon at
fiscal reform   in Canada        human rights leadership   the Door            1
Jody Wilson-Raybould 2017 Policy-Maker of the Year Putting Indigenous issues at the centre of Canadian politics - Macdonald-Laurier Institute
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                                                                             Contributing writers:
                                                                              Contributing writers:
                                      Thomas S. Axworthy                       Past contributors
                                                                                 Andrew  Griffith                          Benjamin Perrin
                                           Thomas S. Axworthy                      Andrew Griffith                      Benjamin Perrin
                       Thomas S. Axworthy
                                   Donald Barry            Philip Cross Stanley H. HarttCarin Holroyd                                 Peggy Nash
                                                                                                                            Mike Priaro
                       Mary-Jane BennettDonald Barry     Laura  Dawson                  Dean Karalekas
                                                                          Stanley H. Hartt                                         Linda Nazareth
                                                                                                                          Mike Priaro
                                      Ken
                        Carolyn Bennett    Coates        Jeremy  Depow     Paul Kennedy  Paul Kennedy                     Colin Robertson
                                                                                                                                   Geoff Norquay
                                          Ken Coates      Peter DeVries    Paul Kennedy                                 Colin Robertson
                       Massimo Bergamini                                               Tasha Kheiriddin                           Benjamin Perrin
                                  Brian Lee Crowley Brian Dijkema Audrey Laporte                                          Roger Robinson
                        Ken BoessenkoolBrian Lee Crowley                               Jeremy Kinsman
                                                                          Audrey Laporte                                           Jeffrey Phillips
                                                                                                                        Roger Robinson
                                                       Don Drummond
                          Scott BrisonCarlo Dade                              Ian Lee Steven Langdon                        Robin V.Mike
                                                                                                                                     SearsPriaro
                                          Carlo Dade       John  Duffy        Ian Lee                                   Robin V. Sears
                         Derek Burney                                                   Audrey Laporte                           Richard Remillard
                        Catherine Cano
                                    Laura Dawson          Patrice Dutil Janice MacKinnon Brad Lavigne                      Munir   Robin V. Sears
                                                                                                                                   Sheikh
                                              Laura Dawson                       Janice MacKinnon                        Munir Sheikh
                              Elaine Carsley           Martha Hall Findlay               Ian Lee                                     Munir Sheikh
                                          Guy    Giorno Tom Flanagan Linda
                                              Giorno
                                             Guy                          Linda Nazareth
                                                                                Nazareth                                  AlexAlex Wilner
                                                                                                                               Wilner
                              Michael Chong                                        Meredith MacDonald                              John Thompson
                     Dan Ciuriak Stephen GreeneChrystia Freeland Geoff Norquay Janice MacKinnon                     Gil Troy
                               Stephen Greene                      Geoff Norquay
                      Scott Clark                Daniel  Gagnier                  Velma McColl                    Michael Watts
                      Ken Coates                   Guy Giorno                      Ted Menzies                     Alex Wilner
                Past contributors: Mary-Jane Bennett, Carolyn Bennett, Massimo Bergamini, Ken Boessenkool, Brian Bohunicky, Scott Brison,
                                                 Stephen   Greene
           Past contributors:   Mary-Jane Bennett, Carolyn Bennett, Massimo Bergamini,
                    Celine Cooper                                                          Ken Boessenkool, Brian Bohunicky, Scott Brison,
                                                                                Robert P. Murphy
                 Derek Burney, Catherine Cano, Dan Ciuriak, Scott Clark, Philip Cross, Celine Cooper, Peter DeVries, Don Drummond, John Duffy,
       Derek Burney, Catherine Cano, Dan Ciuriak, Scott Clark, Philip Cross, Celine Cooper, Peter DeVries, Don Drummond, John Duffy,
                   Patrice Dutil, Joseph Fantino, Daniel Gagnier, Brad Lavigne, Tasha Kheiriddin, Jeremy Kinsman, Steven Langdon, Velma McColl,
         Patrice Dutil, Joseph Fantino, Daniel Gagnier,
                                           Cover photo:Brad Lavigne,
                                                        Courtesy     Tasha
                                                                 of the    Kheiriddin,
                                                                        Office         JeremyofKinsman,
                                                                               of the Minister  Justice Steven Langdon, Velma McColl,
                                                     Ted Menzies, Robert P. Murphy, Peggy Nash, Gil Troy, Michael Watts.
                                                 Ted Menzies, Robert P. Murphy,
                                                                Production      Peggy Renée
                                                                            designer: Nash, Depocas
                                                                                            Gil Troy, Michael Watts.
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Jody Wilson-Raybould 2017 Policy-Maker of the Year Putting Indigenous issues at the centre of Canadian politics - Macdonald-Laurier Institute
From the editors                                                                    Contents
                                                                                    4
W
                                                                                         New Conservative leader should be open to
         elcome to MLI’s annual Policy-Maker of the Year issue. Past recipients
                                                                                         new ideas
         have included: Truth and Reconciliation Commission chair Murray                 Stanley H. Hartt
Sinclair, former Foreign Minister John Baird and former Bank of Canada
Governor Mark Carney, as well as institutions and processes, such as the
                                                                                    7    Policy-Maker of the Year Jody Wilson-Raybould:
                                                                                         from activism to politics
Supreme Court of Canada and the process of “consultation” that has become                Kate Heartfield
the leitmotif for the current government.
     This year, we are pleased to name the Honourable Jody Wilson-                  11   Jody Wilson-Raybould: forging real partnership
                                                                                         Ken Coates
Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, as our Policy-Maker
of the Year. As ably documented by both Kate Heartfield and Ken Coates,             14   How to get Canada out of the EA quicksand
Minister Wilson-Raybould has emerged as a truly impressive figure with one               Ken Coates and Bram Noble
of the most challenging mandates in cabinet. Her contributions on justice           15   BC tanker moratorium is killing First Nations’
and Indigenous affairs are already notable. In the words of Coates, Wilson-              enterprise
Raybould is a politician to watch.                                                       Robert Hage
     Another politician with many eyes on him is the new Conservative leader        17   Trudeau and Morneau understand tax dodging.
Andrew Scheer. This is especially true following a tense leadership race and a           They do it, too
narrow victory. Stanley Hartt offers some important advice to the new leader             Philip Cross
on his policy options.                                                              18   No help for would-be homeowners in Canada’s
     Even with champions like Wilson-Raybould, it is also clear that the                 new housing strategy
government’s engagement with Indigenous communities can still be                         Jane Londerville
improved. This is the subject of separate articles by Coates and Dwight             19   Ottawa should avoid complacency on public
Newman and by Robert Hage.                                                               finances
     Questions can also be raised about the state of the government’s public             Sean Speer
finances, as noted in an article by Sean Speer. Yet, as explained by Philip         20   The case for fiscal reform: lessons from
Cross, this challenge is unlikely to be solved by raising the marginal tax rate          the Anglosphere
on upper-income Canadians.                                                               Sean Speer and Alex Brill
     Sadly, relief for Canadians hoping for more affordable housing is unlikely     23   Arithmetic not ideology
to be in the offing as well, at least based on the government’s own National             Paul Martin
Housing Strategy. That is the conclusion of MLI’s newest Munk Senior
                                                                                    24   Washington should learn from the fiscal lessons
Fellow Jane Londerville.                                                                 of the Anglosphere
     Federal fiscal reform in the United States is increasingly necessary but            Sean Speer
remains ever elusive. We are delighted to offer MLI’s contribution to this
                                                                                    25   Reclaiming Canada’s role as a global human
debate with our Lessons from the Anglosphere series. This issue of Inside Policy         rights leader
includes a shortened version of the introductory essay by Sean Speer and                 Marcus Kolga
Alex Brill, the foreword of one of the papers by Paul Martin, and an article
                                                                                    27   Canada should be wary of China’s Asian
detailing what Washington can learn from the Anglosphere by Speer.                       Infrastructure Investment Bank
     The passage of the Sergei Magnitsky Law provides an important sign that             Philip Cross
Canada is reclaiming its leadership on human rights. Marcus Kolga offers his
                                                                                    29   The CCCI-Aecon deal is China’s gain,
thoughts on this subject.                                                                not Canada’s
     This issue concludes with some articles from MLI’s continuing Dragon at             Duanjie Chen
the Door series, exploring China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the
                                                                                    31   Free trade with Chinese characteristics:
proposed purchase by a state-owned enterprise of Canadian construction giant             let the buyer beware
Aecon, and what lessons Canadians can learn about China from Australia. These            Peter Layton
are authored by Philip Cross, Duanjie Chen, and Peter Layton, respectively.
     As this is the last issue of the year, Merry Christmas and happy holidays
from MLI!

                                                                    INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute   3
Jody Wilson-Raybould 2017 Policy-Maker of the Year Putting Indigenous issues at the centre of Canadian politics - Macdonald-Laurier Institute
CON S E R VATIV E      P ARTY     O F   C AN AD A

                                                                                                                                                  Photo: public domain – flickr.com/photos/andrewscheer
                       New Conservative leader
                     should be open to new ideas
                            Andrew Scheer should be open to good ideas from his closest competitors
                    and be willing to discard the more notorious proposals from the leadership campaign.

                                                    good humour and civility during his stint        the ballot (even though one of them, Kevin
Stanley H. Hartt                                    as Speaker of the House of Commons. His          O’Leary, had dropped out of the race after
                                                    French is better than passable, as it would      the ballots were printed). Voting members

B     ismarck’s famous statement that,
      “Politics is the art of the possible, the
attainable – the art of the next best” was very
                                                    have to be as presiding officer in our elected
                                                    legislative chamber. He has a tendency to
                                                    smile, even when discussing extremely
                                                                                                     were asked to list in numerical order of
                                                                                                     preference their top ten choices. Each
                                                                                                     member was associated with an Electoral
much in play at the Conservative Party’s            polarizing and contentious issues. But, if       District Association (“EDA”) – the riding
leadership selection process. By adopting           the Tories were hoping to identify someone       organization which the Party maintains in
a preferential ballot to make the selection,        who could inspire crowds and lead masses,        each of Canada’s 338 constituencies. Votes
they made sure that their new leader would          the man who was the first choice of 21.82        by Party members were proportioned so that
be the first choice of a few and the second,        percent of Party members on the first round      each EDA had 100 votes, in order to ensure
third or fourth choice of many.                     of voting is not the guy.                        regional equity. So an EDA with 10,000
     Andrew Scheer is a presentable                      For those who did not follow the intrica-   members had 100 votes, and one with 63
politician. He earned a reputation for              cies of the process, 14 candidates were on       members had 100 votes.

  4    INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Jody Wilson-Raybould 2017 Policy-Maker of the Year Putting Indigenous issues at the centre of Canadian politics - Macdonald-Laurier Institute
On the first round of voting, Deepak         that seemed outrageous to the others and to      referenda, and popular initiatives to “let
Obhrai came in last with 0.41 percent of the      the media, just to be distinguished from the     the people speak,” an idea far more suited
votes. His votes were then re-allocated using     pack. But it was often the case that excellent   to the system of government south of the
the same procedure to the second choices of       proposals came from losing candidates,           border but anathema in our Parliamen-
his supporters. This continued until the 13th     including some who lost badly.                   tary representative democracy. Responsible
round of voting, where, for the first time, Mr.        Now, it will not surprise the reader to     government operates through the principle
Scheer passed Maxime Bernier, MP from             learn that sometimes victorious candidates       that the executive must at all times retain the
Beauce, Québec, and won 50.95 percent to          shun the ideas of their closest competi-         confidence of the legislature, failing which
49.05 percent of the weighted points.             tors. They may even relegate opponents           we get an election to select a government
     It isn’t just that the victory wasn’t        to minor positions in assigning critic           that will enjoy such confidence.
stirring. It leaves the public scratching their   roles or committee memberships or when                Other ideas suitable for the trash bin
heads about what the Party actually stands        determining the general prominence of            would include Steven Blaney’s resurrec-
for. The Leader is not free to set policy         Party up-and-comers. Every Party does this.      tion of the ill-fated Harper-era ban on
based on his successful campaign. The Party       Even MPs sitting in the current Liberal          wearing the Niqab by public servants
requires policy development conferences           Cabinet got there because they were not,         or when voting or swearing the oath of
at the membership level to submit policy          in their view, accorded the standing they        allegiance at citizenship ceremonies.
proposals for voting and vetting by EDA,          deserved when they began their political         Apart from any view on its substantive
regional, provincial and ultimately national      careers in the Conservative Party.               merits, this idea was in large measure
policy committees, and are only enshrined in           The new Conservative Leader would           responsible for giving Justin Trudeau
a potential platform by resolutions adopted       be wise if he immediately discarded              his majority. It was Tom Mulcair, after
at a national convention.                         some of the most notorious, unhelpful            all, who when forced to choose between

                                   How are the best ideas from the various platforms
                                     of the leadership candidates to be retained?

     As Thomas Jefferson said, “Democracy         views that emerged during the leadership         the anti-clericalism of his Quebec base,
is cumbersome, slow and inefficient, but          contest. Kellie Leitch attempted to              which would have supported the ban,
in due time, the voice of the people will be      grab attention by suggesting that every          and the soft-hearted, inclusiveness of the
heard and their latent wisdom will prevail.”      foreign applicant to Canada should have          Anglophone-majority provinces, broke
In the meantime, how are the best ideas           a face to face interview with a Canadian         the “anybody but Harper” tie with the
from the various platforms of the leadership      government representative – to ensure that       Liberals by opposing the ban.
candidates to be retained, developed and          the applicant shared “Canadian values.”               Michael Chong’s carbon tax should
refined so that some of the strong views          This concept could have been intended to         not be far behind for Conservatives. Nor
expressed during the campaign are not lost        mean inclusiveness, generosity, support for      should Pierre Lemieux’ pre-occupation
as “sound and fury, signifying nothing”?          our medical care system, social programs,        with re-opening lost social conservative
     Candidates often spoke from conviction       etc. But it was purposely allowed to fester      battles on abortion and same-sex marriage.
about potential legislative initiatives they      as an unspoken reference to “barbaric            Brad Trost had proposed a Trump-like
would press if elected, and many of the           cultural practices,” such as honour killings     ban on entry to Canada from countries or
ideas were sound, creative, thoughtful, and       and female genital mutilation.                   regions that harbour, support, or encourage
helpful. Despite some observers writing                This is not surprising. This was the        terrorism and extremism, and it would be
off the leadership race on the basis that all     same candidate who set up a “snitch line”        easy to forecast how long such a broad-brush
Tories more or less stood for the same thing,     during the last election campaign, resulting     approach to border security would survive a
there were a multitude of areas where this        in significant voter outrage. Then Ms.           test in the Supreme Court of Canada.
was not so. Sometimes a candidate went            Leitch came out with the idea that Canada             But what of the good ideas proposed
out of their way to espouse a policy plank        needed to be governed by more plebiscites,       by Mr. Scheer’s rivals? There seemed to

                                                                    INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute          5
Jody Wilson-Raybould 2017 Policy-Maker of the Year Putting Indigenous issues at the centre of Canadian politics - Macdonald-Laurier Institute
be a consensus for lower taxes, smaller         to “needy” individuals and groups is easier    tions that we be willing to have these
government, and fiscal responsibility, and      to understand than the Conservative            “on the table.” We escaped with only a
the new Leader will doubtless build the         view that better results are obtained by       readjustment of the quotas, largely because
next electoral platform around such basic       creating an environment for investment,        distance meant that few New Zealand or
conservative values. But is there a risk that   risk-taking and job-creation by reducing       Australian dairy producers saw Canada
bolder, imaginative and growth-oriented         the size of government and the tax burden,     as a practical market for their products
initiatives fall by the wayside merely          controlling inflation, and limiting red        in any mass volume. But, with NAFTA
because they originated with campaign           tape and regulation. It takes a very good      up for renegotiation, we should turn our
rivals, particularly those who came close to    and committed communicator, like Mike          attention to thinking about the economic
claiming the prize?                             Harris, for example, to get citizens to buy    gains to be achieved by restructuring
     Maxime Bernier’s platform was based        into that logic.                               these basic food-producing industries
on rock-solid economics. From complete-
ly ending all barriers to interprovincial
trade, to pursuing new international
trade agreements (including, presumably,
                                                                     Maxime Bernier’s platform was based
retaining some form of the Trans-Pacific                                  on rock-solid economics.
Partnership [“TPP”], despite the US
decision to withdraw), to eliminating
corporate welfare and ending the plethora
of boutique tax credits, Bernier’s policies          It might, of course, be even more         while massively lowering the costs to
were an economic purist’s delight.              politically problematic to espouse Mr.         consumers of dairy and poultry products.
     He was also a strong proponent of          Bernier’s promise to eliminate marketing       New co-operatives, like Agropur, could
privatizing Crown assets that were an           boards for dairy and poultry products. But     emerge providing ownership interests and
impediment to creative market competi-          the potential results might well be worth      employment to the owners of small farms
tion, such as the mortgage insurance and        the painful adjustments that all institu-      dedicated to those product lines and, with
securitization functions of the Canada          tional disruption inevitably causes. When      proper adjustment programs, the resulting
Mortgage and Housing Corporation, as            the Canadian Wheat Board was eliminat-         growth would increase our prosperity and
well as Canada Post and our airports while      ed, a number of significant new grain          standard of living.
also eliminating the power of the CRTC          industry traders and processors emerged to         Don’t write these ideas off too
(Canadian Radio-television and Telecom-         give farmers real choice and to modernize      quickly. They are sound, overdue and in
munications Commission) to constrain            our market. At the time of the original        the country’s best interest. Over to you
competition in broadcasting.                    Canada-US Free Trade Agreement, we             Mr. Scheer! Make these truly Conserva-
     But the natural impediment to all          had identified industries that we were         tive policies yours and the Party’s. Selling
growth-oriented policies is that good           certain would effectively disappear, among     them will be the legitimate test of your
economics do not always lead to attractive      them the wine industry. What happened          leadership skills!
political positions. Once a program is in       instead was that, with the entire North
place, it invariably has a following who        American continent as their market, the        Stanley Herbert Hartt, OC, QC is a lawyer, lecturer,
adore and defend it. The mantra in the          best Canadian winemakers grew exponen-         businessman, and civil servant. He currently serves as
Finance Department when I served there          tially. Smaller, craft wineries of very high   counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada.Previously
was always, “The easiest policy to cut          quality emerged, and we now can hold           Mr. Hartt was chairman of Macquarie Capital Markets
is one that hasn’t been announced yet.”         our heads up as among the world’s leading      Canada Ltd. Before this he practised law as a partner
An economics professor of mine, David           wine producers.                                for 20 years at a leading Canadian business law
McCord Wright, used to put it even more              Our marketing boards have already         firm and was chairman of Citigroup Global Markets
simply: “Growth comes through change            escaped one round of trade negotiations        Canada and its predecessor Salomon Smith Barney
and causes change.”                             in which there was some risk of their          Canada. Mr. Hartt also served as chairman, president
     This is the bane of Conservatives.         demise. New Zealand and Australia had          and CEO of Campeau Corporation, Deputy Minister at
The Liberal practice of transferring            made it a condition of our entry into the      the Department of Finance and, in the late 1980s, as
resources through government spending           Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotia-       chief of staff in the Office of the Prime Minister.

 6     INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Jody Wilson-Raybould 2017 Policy-Maker of the Year Putting Indigenous issues at the centre of Canadian politics - Macdonald-Laurier Institute
C O V E R   F E A T U R E

                                                              Policy-Maker of the Year:
                                                              Jody Wilson-Raybould
                                                                                         From activism to politics

                                                           Canada’s Justice Minister and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould came to office
                                                           with an extensive mandate. She is one of the busiest, most active members of Cabinet,
                                                                        and MLI is delighted to name her Policy-Maker of the Year.
Photo: Courtesy of the Office of the Minister of Justice

                                                                         Kate Heartfield

                                                                        I   n her first speech as Canada’s Justice Minister, early in 2015,
                                                                            Jody Wilson-Raybould spoke about the values she was
                                                                         taught in a matrilineal, communitarian Indigenous society.
                                                                             “Our whole system was and is about balance,” she told a
                                                                         crowd at Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy.

                                                                                                     INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute   7
Jody Wilson-Raybould 2017 Policy-Maker of the Year Putting Indigenous issues at the centre of Canadian politics - Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Two years later, in Ottawa’s hyper-          are prevented from playing a role, then the            Wilson-Raybould studied at the
partisan corridors, with a stack of highly        community suffers.”                               University of Victoria and the University
charged social and justice issues on her desk,        Wilson-Raybould, 46, grew up and was          of British Columbia and was called to the
the right balance is never easy to achieve.       educated in British Columbia. She comes           bar in 2000. She worked as a provincial
     Advocates of justice reform criticize her    from the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk and               Crown prosecutor in Vancouver’s
for being too slow to address the many ways       Laich-Kwil-Tach peoples of Vancouver              Downtown Eastside. She became a policy
in which that system is broken. At the same       Island. Her grandmother, Ethel Pearson,           advisor to the BC Treaty Commission in
time, the Opposition is constantly pushing        or Pugladee, was the matriarch of their           2003 and was elected to council of the We
against a Liberal justice agenda that social      clan and her father, Bill Wilson, is a            Wai Kai Nation in 2009. From 2009 until
conservatives characterize as a reckless          hereditary chief.                                 2015, she served as Regional Chief of the
attempt at social engineering.                        After Wilson-Raybould was elected, the        BC Assembly of First Nations.
     “She has been one of the busiest and         Internet was charmed by video from 1983                Perry Bellegarde, who is now the
most active ministers just on the policy file     of Wilson confronting then Prime Minister         National Chief of the Assembly of First
alone,” says Emmett Macfarlane, a political       Pierre Elliott Trudeau. “I have two children      Nations (AFN), got to know her during
scientist at the University of Waterloo whose     in Vancouver Island,” said Wilson, “both of       those years. “She’s very principled. She’s
research focuses on rights, governance and        whom for some misguided reason say they           fair, transparent. Those are strengths that
public policy. “My appraisal of that is that      want to be a lawyer. Both of whom want to         she’s going to need as Attorney General and
she has also been one of the most competent       be the Prime Minister. Both of whom, Mr.          Minister of Justice. And she’s professional.”
and successful ministers in handling a set of     Prime Minister, are women.”                            In 2013, Justin Trudeau came to an
difficult files.”                                     There was general laughter, which tells       AFN meeting in Whitehorse. He sat down
     If Justin Trudeau’s Liberals want to         you something about 1983.                         with Wilson-Raybould, 30 years after
make a lasting impact on Canadian society,            “Tell them I’ll stick around till they’re     their fathers traded barbs. He asked her if
the justice file is key. If they want to change   ready,” the elder Trudeau quipped.                she would consider running, and invited
the way Canada deals with social problems             The pre-teen Jody Wilson-Raybould             her to chair the Liberal convention in
such as poverty and racial injustice, they        watched that exchange on television, and          Montreal the following year. In 2015, she
have to change the Criminal Code and              while it’s true that she grew up planning to be   ran and won the seat in the new riding of
reform the court system. If they want to          a lawyer, the bit about wanting to be Prime       Vancouver Granville. On Nov. 4, 2015,
achieve any measure of reconciliation with        Minister was her father’s rhetorical flourish.    she was sworn in as Justice Minister and
Indigenous peoples, then more than 150                Wilson-Raybould carries the Kwak’wala         Attorney General.
years of colonialism will have to be stripped     name Puglaas, which means “woman born                  The mandate letter she received from the
out of Canada’s laws.                             to noble people.” (It’s her Twitter handle.)      Prime Minister is exhausting even to read.
                                                                                                         Wilson-Raybould came into office
                                                                                                    with a mandate to, among other things,
                If Justin Trudeau’s Liberals want to make                                           respond to the Supreme Court decision
                                                                                                    on      physician-assisted    death,     help
                  a lasting impact on Canadian society,                                             develop the inquiry into missing and
                            the justice file is key.                                                murdered indigenous women, review the
                                                                                                    government’s litigation strategy, repair
                                                                                                    several major aspects of the criminal
     Two years into the job, Canada’s Justice     The name was given to her when she was            justice system, help guide the legalization
Minister and Attorney General says she            a child, at a potlatch. Potlatches are a          and regulation of marijuana, change the
still sees her role as correcting imbalance:      system of governance that involve dancing         laws regarding national security and guns,
“Balance between a diversity of views.            and speeches, the giving of names and the         introduce legislation to prohibit some
Balance between ensuring rights of individ-       distribution of gifts and property.               forms of discrimination against transgen-
uals to participate in our democracy. It               From 1884 to 1951, the assimilationist       der people — all this while serving as the
comes from the values that I learned from         government of Canada outlawed potlatch-           Crown’s chief law officer and as the legal
a really young age, that everybody in our         es, and participation in them was an offence      advisor to cabinet, and while dealing with
community has a role to play. When people         punishable by imprisonment.                       new events and circumstances as they arise.

 8     INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Jody Wilson-Raybould 2017 Policy-Maker of the Year Putting Indigenous issues at the centre of Canadian politics - Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Minister Wilson-Raybould and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speak with first              Minister attends Justice Canada’s employee national awards ceremony,
responders and community leaders about opioid use in Vancouver.                          recognizing outstanding performance and contributions in 2017.
(Photo: pm.gc.ca/eng/photos)                                                             (Photo: Courtesy the Office of the Minister of Justice via Twitter @MinJusticeEn)

                                                                                                                  15 years. That’s what we see with Justice
                                                                                                                  Martin; she’s 60 years old and could sit on
                                                                                                                  the court until she’s 75.”
                                                                 She’s also been                                       But when it comes to her policy impact on
                                                                                                                  Canada’s justice system so far, Ottawa lawyer
                                                                busy with judicial                                Michael Spratt calls the pace “disappointing.”
                                                               appointments and                                        “There’s been a stunning lack of
                                                                                                                  advancement on the criminal legislation
                                                              is proud of the work                                that has been introduced,” says Spratt,
                                                              that she’s been able                                who is a partner at Abergel Goldstein &
                                                                                                                  Partners. “What has been introduced is
                                                                   to do there.                                   rather unambitious, save for the medical
                                                                                                                  assistance in dying bill, which is one of the
(Photo: Courtesy the Office of the Minister of Justice)
                                                                                                                  highlights of her tenure thus far.”
     Beyond all that, she’s had to meet the less          have been working on achieving the ends of                   The bills on cannabis and impaired
tangible expectations that come with being                C-16 for decades and the emotion on their               driving, he says, “have from the perspective
a role model, as the first Indigenous person              faces when the bill received royal assent was           of the defence bar missed the mark and are
(and only the third woman) to hold that job.              something that I’ll never forget.”                      very problematic.”
     “She has earned a reputation,” says                       She’s also been busy with judicial                      Wilson-Raybould has started to deal with
Macfarlane, “not just for having a steady                 appointments and is proud of the work that              some of the problems in the Canadian court
hand on the wheel but for initiating a                    she’s been able to do there, and on her work            system, but Spratt says one likely explanation
whole set of successful policy changes, just              advising the Prime Minister when it comes               for the slowness on this file is that criminal
in terms of the bills that have gone through              to the Supreme Court. Trudeau announced                 justice has become intensely politicized.
Parliament under her portfolio.”                          the nomination of Sheilah Martin to the                      Take, as one example of this, an exchange
     Her political successes this year include            Supreme Court in November.                              from May in the justice committee.
the passage of Bill C-16, which amends                         “It is an incredible responsibility for                 Conservative MP Ted Falk listed bills
the Canadian Human Rights Act and the                     a gal that is from the west coast of British            related to medical assistance in dying, the
hate-speech provisions of the Criminal                    Columbia who went to law school at UBC,”                transgender rights bill, a repeal of a sexual
Code to add gender identity and expression                says Wilson-Raybould. “I could never have               offence in the Criminal Code that targeted
as prohibited grounds for discrimination. It              imagined me being in a position where I                 gay men, and safe injection sites. Falk asked
received royal assent in June.                            could assist a prime minister in charting,              the justice minister: “These pieces of legisla-
     “That to me was a big highlight,” she                essentially, for the legal community, the               tion seem to have a particular theme to them
recalls, “because I saw the advocates who                 Supreme Court of Canada for the next                    and I’m wondering what is it that motivates

                                                                            INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute                                  9
Jody Wilson-Raybould 2017 Policy-Maker of the Year Putting Indigenous issues at the centre of Canadian politics - Macdonald-Laurier Institute
your government to, in my opinion, be               Prime Minister announced a working                 Carolyn Bennett is the Minister of
so bent on and recklessly determined to             group of ministers charged with reviewing          Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern
destroy our social and moral fabric?”               all laws and policies related to Indigenous        Affairs, and Jane Philpott is the Minister of
     Wilson-Raybould responded that she             peoples, with Wilson-Raybould as chair.            Indigenous Services.
wouldn’t apologize for upholding Charter                 Bellegarde says one of the major                   “I’m proud to be a part of that,” says
rights. “We are making decisions as a               benefits to having someone of Wilson-              Wilson-Raybould, “working with my
government that ensures we uphold what              Raybould’s background in the job is that           colleagues Ministers Bennett and Philpott and
makes this country great, which is its diversity.   Indigenous people have not had to spend            under the Prime Minister. I believe that our
We benefit from having a Charter of Rights          time educating a new minister about basic          relationship with Indigenous peoples will be
and Freedoms and it is my most important            concepts such as treaty rights.                    one of the lasting legacies of our government.”
job, that we ensure that we uphold those                 “We both agree that we need to move                Wilson-Raybould says her greatest
rights. If I didn’t do that I wouldn’t be doing     beyond the Indian Act and exert First              challenge so far has been balancing all her
my job. I will not apologize for those pieces       Nations jurisdiction and sovereignty, and          duties as MP of a Vancouver riding, as
of legislation but I will stand up and shout        move back to nation to nation. That’s the          Attorney General and Justice Minister. She’s
from the rooftops as to the substantive public      work we need to do together, collectively.         working harder than she’s ever worked, she
policy that stands behind each of those.”           And having an individual with her                  says, but wouldn’t change it.

                           I believe that our relationship with Indigenous peoples
                           will be one of the lasting legacies of our government.”
                                                                                                   – Jody Wilson-Raybould

     If every piece of legislation becomes a        background and her experience in a very key             Jumping into the world of partisan
front in a culture war, that takes time – and       position, as the Attorney general of Canada,       politics has also been a contrast, in some
that even scarcer commodity, political courage.     will mean we’re going to get better policy         ways, to her former life in First Nations
     Spratt says the polarization on criminal       and better legislation, and more sensitivity       politics and activism.
justice policy will make Wilson-Raybould’s          to First Nations law and jurisdiction and               “Debate on public policy sometimes
job even more difficult now that the Liberals       inherent rights and treaty rights.”                gets lost in the wrangling of partisan
are well past their honeymoon period.                    Part of the task of reconciliation is the     politics. I know that’s the reality of life here
     “I can understand impatience. I am             implementation of the United Nations               and it’s always going to be that way. But
impatient as well,” says Wilson-Raybould.           Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.   there are issues that are so important that
She says she’s been talking with her                Another part is the inquiry on missing and         require a non-partisan approach to their
provincial counterparts and with Canadians          murdered women, which has been so plagued          resolution. Issues like the environment and
across the country to identify priorities and       by bureaucratic tangles, delays and resigna-       climate change. Issues like the recognition
is planning “bold” reforms. “It’s something         tions that Wilson-Raybould’s father called         of Indigenous peoples within our constitu-
that I’m deeply committed to and I want to          it a “bloody farce” in the summer. There are       tional fabric. If I can bring anything I know
make sure that when we introduce reforms,           the recommendations from the Truth and             I bring this to my role and try to work in
it benefits from broad consultation and             Reconciliation Commission to implement.            this regard with every member of Parliament
dialogue and debate… When all of those              All of this is informed, or should be, by the      and try to work toward consensus around
voices are heard and reflected in the public        nearly 22-year-old recommendations of the          issues that require the investment of all
policy decisions that we make, I hope that          Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.            members of Parliament and the investment
the hyper-partisan nature of the reality that            Wilson-Raybould says a lot of the             of all Canadians.”
we live in dissipates somewhat.”                    government’s early work on reconcilia-
     An overhaul of the Criminal Code               tion has been internal or in consultation          Kate Heartfield is an Ottawa-based writer and editor.
is not the only major review on Wilson-             with Indigenous communities, laying the            She is the former editorial-pages editor for the Ottawa
Raybould’s to-do list. Early in 2017, the           groundwork for more visible changes.               Citizen, and teaches journalism at Carleton University.

 10     INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute
P OLI C Y- M AK ER     O F   TH E   YEAR
Photo: Courtesy of the Office of the Minister of Justice

                                                                                     Jody Wilson-Raybould:
                                                                                   forging a real partnership
                                                                               Minister Wilson-Raybould has tackled one of the most pressing issues of our times –
                                                                                    Indigenous legal and constitutional rights – with grace and determination.

                                                           Ken Coates                                     and, in particular, to Indigenous-            before entering federal politics. She has
                                                                                                          government relations in Canada. She           tackled one of the most pressing issues of our

                                                           J ody Wilson-Raybould is a truly impressive
                                                             individual. Having followed her career
                                                                                                          argued that the status quo was unacceptable
                                                                                                          but also made it clear that there was no
                                                                                                                                                        times – Indigenous legal and constitutional
                                                                                                                                                        rights – with grace and determination. She
                                                           in Aboriginal politics with interest over      simple or obvious solution to a set of        has navigated the uneven terrain between
                                                           the years, I was delighted to learn that she   issues hundreds of years in the making. In    Indigenous politics, federal politics, the civil
                                                           was giving the introductory address at a       a field often given to polemics and strong    servants of the Department of Indigenous
                                                           governance conference at Queen’s University.   opinions, Jody Wilson-Raybould adopted a      and Northern Affairs Canada, and a highly
                                                           In that formal scholarly setting, Wilson-      practical, problem-solving approach.          sensitive general public. Her unflappability
                                                           Raybould did a remarkable job of setting            As one of the most important cabinet     has served her and the government well as
                                                           the tone for the conference, challenging       ministers in the Government of Canada,        the complications of treaties historical and
                                                           academics to produce more creative             Wilson-Raybould is still as refreshing and    contemporary, numerous court challenges
                                                           approaches to Indigenous administration        straight-forward as she was in her time       and decisions, wide-ranging Indigenous

                                                                                                                           INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute        11
demands, complex Indigenous positions             She has managed a diverse and exacting          Indigenous policies, including shaping
on resource development, and the many             portfolio with grace and competence – while     the government’s evolving position on the
shortcomings of federal Indigenous policies       leading the government’s efforts to redefine    United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
play themselves out in national politics.         the nation-to-nation relationship sought by     Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), reviewing
     Wilson-Raybould’s greatest achieve-          Indigenous peoples in Canada as promised        the foundations of the federal relationship
ment – and this is no small feat – is that        by Prime Minister Trudeau.                      with the First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and
she has shifted, with the full support of the         Wilson-Raybould came to federal             restructuring Canada’s legal arrangements
Prime Minister and his cabinet, Indigenous        politics in a unique manner. The daughter       with Aboriginal people in Canada.
affairs from the margins to the centre of         of prominent – and provocative –                     Wilson-Raybould’s contributions are
Canadian politics. She has accomplished           Kwagiulth hereditary chief Bill Wilson,         numerous and extend beyond the specific
this through her knowledge of the file and        she emerged from often fiery and always         confines of Indigenous policies and the
her forceful, yet understanding approach          intense world of British Columbia politics.     law, but here her impact has been substan-
to the Canadian business community and            Educated as a lawyer, she had a diverse         tial. Together with her cabinet colleagues
non-Indigenous people generally. Together         career before entering national Indigenous      Carolyn Bennett and Jane Philpott – a
with Assembly of First Nations National           politics, serving as a Crown Prosecutor and     triumvirate of unusual talent and even
Chief Perry Bellegarde, she has taken one of      advisor to the BC Treaty Commission. As         greater determination – she is directing
the most divisive issues in Canadian public       the Regional Chief for British Columbia         a “whole of government” approach to
affairs and made it accessible and yet still      with the Assembly of First Nations, she         rebuilding relations with Indigenous
urgent. She knows that the Canadian public        made major contributions to the develop-        governments, organizations and peoples.
is not yet fully onboard but has managed to       ment of Indigenous self-determination           While the government’s promises have,

                 Minister Wilson-Raybould, a member of the We Wai Kai Nation, is also
                 the most influential Indigenous federal politician in Canadian history.

push the most aggressive Indigenous agenda        and effective governance. Capitalizing on       to date, been more substantial than its
in Canadian history without producing             the Government of British Columbia’s            accomplishments, significant progress has
a sustained backlash against Indigenous           more conciliatory approach to Indigenous        been made in building the underpinnings
peoples and the Government of Canada.             affairs, Regional Chief Wilson-Raybould         of new political and structural approaches
     Wilson-Raybould is changing Canada           helped shape a more promising agenda in         to Indigenous affairs.
and Canadian politics in the most valuable        a province long-known for conflict between           Indigenous organizations remain as
ways: by introducing bold and construc-           provincial and Indigenous leaders.              vigilant and assertive as ever, but close
tive policies while challenging the country            Jody Wilson-Raybould came to               observers of federal politics know that
to change the way it is governed. She is          national prominence as the co-chair of the      groups like the Assembly of First Nations,
one of the remarkable group of female             2014 Liberal convention, held in Montreal.      Métis National Council and the Inuit
cabinet ministers who have demonstrat-            Her political potential, long known to          Tapiriit Kanatami have been drawn
ed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s           observers in British Columbia, had found a      into the productive co-production of
commitment to gender equity truly was             national outlet. She accepted Liberal leader    policy processes and more collaborative
more about unleashing political potential         Justin Trudeau’s encouragement to seek          approaches than in the past. Canadians
than making grand symbolic gestures.              the nomination in Vancouver-Granville.          have become used to Indigenous political
     Minister Wilson-Raybould, a member           She won the nomination and then the             activism – the spirit of Idle No More lives
of the We Wai Kai Nation, is also the most        seat in the 2015 federal election. She was      on in powerful ways – but the Trudeau
influential Indigenous federal politician in      subsequently appointed Minister of Justice      government has awakened the country to
Canadian history, although it misrepresents       and Attorney General of Canada.                 the prospect for real and sustained change
her contributions to the government and to             As Minister of Justice, she has played a   in both policies and, even more promising,
Canada to label her an “Aboriginal politician.”   prominent role in the development of federal    Indigenous outcomes.

 12    INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute
For generations, Canadians have been
used to seeing Indigenous policy-making
as an important but marginal element
in national politics. Occasional conflicts
brought Indigenous affairs to the fore,
but the troubled nuances of reserve water
policy, Indigenous economic development,
                                                                                                                                Discussing Canada’s
modern treaties and social programs rested                                                                                      justice system and
on the periphery of Canadian politics.                                                                                          how to reduce poverty
                                                                                                                                at the National Poverty
     With Minister Wilson-Raybould in a
                                                                                                                                Conference in
prominent cabinet position, and with the                                                                                        September.
force of her personality, political instincts,                                                                                  (Photo: Courtesy the Office
                                                                                                                                of the Minister of Justice
and insights into Indigenous policies,                                                                                          via Twitter @MinJusticeEn)

she has been pivotal in regularizing the
national prominence of Aboriginal affairs.
The Trudeau government has succeeded in
                                                                           Jody Wilson-Raybould has built
ensuring that Indigenous matters are viewed                             the most powerful 21st century persona
as among the most important questions
facing the country. The ground has been
                                                                                  in federal politics.
prepared for a substantial, sustained and,
one hopes, successful effort to address the        cabinet and Parliament, and working with        persona in federal politics. More than any
economic, social, political and cultural           her colleagues and Indigenous groups to         other federal politician, she has present-
needs of Indigenous people in Canada.              build a foundation for long-term partner-       ed a vision for the transformation of
     The most effective federal politicians        ships. She has run her Ministry with skill      Canada, breaking away from the tired and
in Canada often work behind the scenes,            and integrity, avoiding the controversies       harmful policies of the past and creating
developing ties with their provincial, territo-    that are commonplace with first-time            the foundation for a new Canada where
rial and, in this case, Indigenous counter-        cabinet ministers, and developing a             Indigenous peoples are – finally and firmly
parts. They work on structural matters –           national reputation for calm leadership.        – true partners in Confederation.
less newsworthy, perhaps, than large-scale              Jody Wilson-Raybould is a politician to        She has demonstrated that the country
budgetary announcements – and on shifting          watch. Her broad contribution is perhaps        need not remain locked in the past and
the legal and policy foundation in Canada.         without parallel in the current Liberal         can contemplate dramatic changes in
One of Minister Wilson-Raybould’s main             government. As an Indigenous leader willing     the political status quo. Where else in
tasks – identifying new approaches to legal        and able to speak bluntly and forcefully to     government are we seeing such transfor-
relations between Canada and Indigenous            her counterparts in Indigenous organiza-        mative rebuilding of policy and the civil
peoples – has the potential to restructure         tions, she has developed an audience for        service? Through the force of her personali-
and regularize a system that has become            constructive change. Driven by the family       ty combined with her confidence, Minister
a focus for contention and conflict. This is       passion for justice for Indigenous peoples,     Wilson-Raybould has made it clear that a
not the “stuff” of high politics, but it has the   schooled in the hard-knock world of First       country that is based on real collabora-
potential to shift relations with Indigenous       Nations politics in British Columbia and        tion with Indigenous people is actually
peoples from the courts, time-consuming and        well-aware of the social challenges facing      a much better place, for Indigenous and
expensive, to more collaborative, problem-         Indigenous peoples across Canada, Minister      non-Indigenous peoples alike. One gets
solving partnerships between the federal           Wilson-Raybould is a powerful and               the sense that she is just getting started.
government and Indigenous authorities.             unrelenting advocate for true social justice.
     Canadians, in the main, under-estimate             By giving a new face to Indigenous         Kenneth S. Coates is MLI’s Munk Senior Fellow in
the important roles that Minister Wilson-          affairs in Canada – and with a sweeping         Aboriginal and Northern Canadian Issues. He is the
Raybould plays in national affairs. She has        impact on her portfolio and on the broader      Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation in the
toned down the rhetoric on Indigenous              government – Jody Wilson-Raybould               Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at
affairs, pushing for new approaches in             has built the most powerful 21st century        the University of Saskatchewan.

                                                                     INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute                   13
N ATU RAL       RES O U RC ES

                            How to get Canada out
                             of the EA quicksand
                            A new regional environmental assessment process could help address
                                   big picture issues surrounding proposed resource projects.

Ken Coates and Bram Noble                     project-based environmental assessments.                With these parameters understood,
                                              The established procedures were never              the work is typically turned over to

T     he federal government’s commit-
      ment to fixing Canada’s environmen-
tal assessment process appears to be going
                                              intended to tackle big picture issues such
                                              as downstream greenhouse gas emissions
                                              or the future of the Oil Sands.
                                                                                                 technicians charged with completing
                                                                                                 the environmental research and analysis.
                                                                                                 All the while, costs to the companies
nowhere fast. Recently Indigenous partici-         A big part of the answer is to ask project-   mount, governments wait anxiously for
pants walked out of the Ottawa meetings       based EAs to do less, not more. Canada             the anticipated jobs and tax revenue, and
aimed at EA reform, declaring themselves      should create a new process of regional            Indigenous communities wrestle with
upset that the government had proceeded       assessments to address the big picture issues      difficult local decisions.
with development work without Indige-         first – before individual project proposals             But there is a better way: Do not
nous involvement.                             are on the table.                                  wait for companies to identify a specific
     The federal government had promised                                                         property or site to be evaluated. Instead,
to reform the major underlying legislation                                                       develop a collaborative approach by
and co-produce EA policy with Indigenous                                                         government, business and Indigenous
representatives. Yet, as Assembly of First                                                       communities that covers broad regions,
Nations Ontario Regional Chief Isadore
                                                      A big part of the                          like Ontario’s Ring of Fire or the Western
Day commented, “It’s a sad story but we               answer is to ask                           Arctic. This approach has already been
have become strangers to the process.                                                            tested on a smaller scale in the Great
… I’m sensing we are in darkening times
                                                       project-based                             Sand Hills region in Saskatchewan. Such
when it comes to sunny ways of this Prime              EAs to do less,                           a practice is also unfolding in British
Minister and his commitment to nation-to-                                                        Columbia’s coal-rich Elk Valley.
nation relationship.”
                                                         not more.                                    The regional assessment would review
     Making progress on this file is vital.                                                      the natural environment, Indigenous
The National Energy Board has been                In the current system, the discovery           land and water use and areas of cultural
subjected to extensive and overwrought        of a resource deposit starts the clock             and spiritual importance, provide a
criticism, and a high-profile study           ticking for governments and corporations.          comprehensive evaluation of ecologically
recommended its effective elimination.        This, in turn, puts enormous pressure on           and culturally sensitive areas, and explore
The EA processes for the Kinder Morgan        Indigenous communities to get in line              the potential future outcomes under
Trans Mountain pipeline and other             with the project.                                  different types of development.
projects have become battlefields. Energy         The environmental and social effects                Indigenous communities would work
East is dead. The word is out that Canada     of the proposed developments must be               with other interested parties to chart areas
has become EA quicksand.                      understood. Plans have to be in place              of environmental, cultural and spiritual
     Governments, Indigenous communi-         to mitigate against potential ecologi-             vulnerability. These baseline studies would
ties and resource companies agree on          cal and social disruptions. Consulta-              be updated over time – a crucial require-
the need for comprehensive, accurate          tions with Indigenous peoples have to              ment given changes to the environment.
and effective environmental and social        be rigorous and comprehensive. Further,                 Proactive measures like this could
assessments of proposed resource projects.    the accommodations and compensation                transform the development process
So how can we do better? We should            provided to the communities must be
start by acknowledging the limits of          appropriate and effective.                                                Continued on page 33

 14    INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute
OI L   TAN K ER     M O RATO RIU M

Lewis Pratt

                           BC tanker moratorium is killing
                               First Nations’ enterprise
                                     The proposed BC-Alberta energy corridor is premised on Indigenous engagement.
                            Yet the federal government remains an obstacle despite its priority of Indigenous reconciliation.

              Robert Hage                                       met. In return, energy companies would          peoples. As part of the process, the United
                                                                get a “pre-approved” First Nations corridor     States government created 12 regional

              F    ive years ago, as debate swelled across
                   southern and central British Columbia
              about pipeline proposals to transport
                                                                through which pipelines and other infrastruc-
                                                                ture could run. Government and industry
                                                                would have the certainty missing from
                                                                                                                profit-making native corporations. These
                                                                                                                were designed to give its indigenous
                                                                                                                peoples the means to ensure their financial
              Alberta’s oil sands crude to BC ports,            other projects, the now defunct Enbridge        independence through their corporate
              members of the coastal Lax Kw’Alaams First        Northern Gateway and the now approved           ownership of large tracts of land and the
              Nation had an idea: develop an “energy            Kinder Morgan pipeline, still opposed by        opportunity to develop that land.
              corridor” across First Nations’ traditional       some First Nations and environmentalists.            The Arctic Slope Regional Corpora-
              lands from Fort McMurray to the BC coast.             Consultations followed among the nine       tion represents 11,000 Alaskan Inupiat;
              Instead of endless arguments this corridor        native bands along the corridor and, with       it is now the largest Alaskan-owned
              would provide a “social licence,” not only        time, won broad acceptance. They created        company with 10,000 employees. The
              for oil pipelines but potentially for liquefied   a governing body, the Chiefs’ Council,          Chugach Alaska Corporation, with
              natural gas, hydroelectric power and even         and a company, Eagle Spirit Energy, as its      5,000 miles of coastline along the Gulf
              fibre optic cable.                                operational arm. BC’s Aquilini Investment       of Alaska, represents Aleut, Inuit, and
                   This would be a win-win situation.           Group provided the seed money.                  Native American stakeholders. Through
              The First Nations would be part of any                The Chiefs’ Council did not have far        its companies, Chugach designed, built,
              government/industry          decision-making      to look for inspiration. Alaska’s petroleum     and operates the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Its
              process with the prospect of obtaining            development has, from the beginning,            spill response and maintenance operations
              ongoing employment, revenue and assurance         been a partnership among government,            have made it one of the world’s largest spill
              their environmental conditions would be           industry, community and indigenous              preparedness and response organizations.

                                                                                  INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute       15
The proposed BC-Alberta energy                stop the development of Enbridge’s Northern          On December 9, 2015, Helen Johnson,
corridor mirrors this approach. It is built       Gateway oil pipeline and Kitimat terminal.      chair of the Chiefs’ Council, wrote to
on the premise that First Nations must be         These bills all failed once the Conservatives   Trudeau to request an urgent meeting to
engaged in a meaningful way from the start        gained a minority government in 2006.           discuss the proposed moratorium legisla-
in development, design, construction and          Shortly after coming to power in 2015, Prime    tion. She stated the government’s “unilater-
operation with a strong focus on environ-         Minister Trudeau gave Transport Minister        al tanker moratorium…did not involve
mental protection, exceeding Canadian             Marc Garneau a “top priority” mandate to        consultation with First Nations who have
regulations. Moreover, the council sees the       formalize such a moratorium.                    been stewards of the lands and waters since
social and economic opportunities offered             The previous bills proposed banning         time immemorial and who have a right
to First Nations by the energy corridor as        tankers sailing within the defined waters       to access economic opportunities on our
directly addressing Canada’s “agenda for          of what is known as Canada’s “Fishing           lands.” No meeting took place. Almost a
reconciliation.”                                  Zone 3,” stretching from the northern           year later the Lax Kw’ Alaams Hereditary
                                                                                                  Chiefs asked the Prime Minister’s Office
                                                                                                  for consultations before implement-
               First Nations must be engaged in                                                   ing a moratorium. They underlined the
              a meaningful way from the start in                                                  importance of environmental protection
                                                                                                  while meeting their social and economic
       development, design, construction and operation.                                           needs in an area with 90 percent unemploy-
                                                                                                  ment. Again, no meeting.
                                                                                                       When the Liberals subsequently
     It is paradoxical that the major             tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaska           introduced the legislation in May, the same
impediment to the corridor’s ongoing              Panhandle. Bill C-48, on the other hand,        chiefs issued a declaration on September
development comes from the very federal           prohibits tankers carrying crude oil from       28, 2017. It said that the moratorium
government which has made reconciliation          entering or leaving ports in the same area.     encompassing the Great Bear Rainforest,
one of its top priorities. On May 12, 2017,       In focusing on the use of Canadian ports,       which includes their traditional tribal lands,
the government introduced Bill C-48,              the government has avoided a possible           was “done without any prior consultation
the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, which              confrontation with the United States,           or consent” as required under Canada’s
is still before Parliament. The proposed          which has protested Canada’s claim that         constitution and upheld by the Supreme
moratorium will apply to all large crude          Fishing Zone 3 constitutes Canadian             Court of Canada. As a result, “the Oil
oil shipments by tanker from ports along          internal waters. The rather odd result under    Tanker Moratorium Act… has no applica-
the BC coast and inland areas north of            the new bill is that tankers carrying crude     tion or effect in our traditional territo-
Vancouver Island (what the government             can still ply these waters as long as they do   ries.” They concluded “such initiatives
refers to as the “Great Bear Rainforest” and      not enter or leave from a Canadian port.        run counter to Prime Minister Trudeau’s
“Great Bear Sea”) as well as Haida Guaii.         The legislation does not apply to tankers       supposed reconciliation commitment to a
The rainforest includes the coastal and           transporting refined oil.                       new relationship with Indigenous Peoples
inland territory of the Lax Kw’Alaams, in              This, in turn, raises the question why     one based on the recognition of rights,
fact, the very location where they envisaged      such legislation is required at all. It does    respect, co-operation and partnership.”
a tanker terminal. The act’s stated objective     not apply to BC’s southern waters including          It’s time to put a moratorium on the
is to “provide extra protection for BC’s          the Strait of Juan de Fuca used by Alaskan      Moratorium Act.
pristine northern coastline.”                     crude oil tankers headed for Puget Sound
     The moratorium has been in the works         or to the Port of Vancouver/Burnaby, the        Robert Hage, a former Canadian diplomat with the
for a decade. In 2010, Liberal MP Joyce           site of the Kinder-Morgan tanker terminal       Department of Global Affairs, served as Canada’s
Murray, now parliamentary secretary to the        now approved by the federal government.         ambassador to Hungary and Slovenia, and as director
president of the Treasury Board, introduced a     Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project was         general for Europe and director general for legal affairs.
private member’s bill to legislate a tanker ban   cancelled by the government this year. In       He is author of the 2015 MLI study “Risk, Prevention
on the West Coast. Her bill was one of five       sum, the only pipeline and terminal project     and Opportunity: Northern Gateway and the Marine
introduced by the Liberals or NDP between         the Moratorium Act would affect is the First    Environment.” This article first appeared in the
2007 and 2011. Their stated objective was to      Nations’ Eagle Spirit Energy Corridor.          Financial Post.

 16     INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute
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