Reconciliation: Action needed instead of symbolism, says Jody Wilson-Raybould

Former minister of Justice and attorney general of Canada Jody Wilson-Raybould called on all levels of government and industry to stop merely pursuing symbolic gestures towards First Nation reconciliation but to actively pursue meaningful change.

Wilson-Raybould said enabling Indigenous self-determination would support Indigenous peoples’ cultural, social, and economic well-being while giving nations, governments, and industry the certainty needed during this transitional time.

She told the conference hosted by the Association for Mineral Exploration that the industry is working in Indigenous territories. Those companies have an opportunity to model decision-making based on Indigenous consent.

Wilson-Raybould said several developments were impacting Indigenous groups since she was expelled from caucus amid the SNC-Lavalin affair in 2019.

There has been a continued escalation around some major natural resource projects such as the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s hereditary chiefs’ denial of rights for the 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline, for example, while new impact benefit agreements and other arrangements continued to be worked out.

The British Columbia and federal government have adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which sets a useful backdrop to reconciliation. Still, in her view, it is more symbolic and does not, in granular terms, allow for actionable policies.

There were also profound court decisions about government human rights violations of Indigenous children in recent years and far-reaching court decisions, including resource development over vast parts of British Columbia such as the Blueberry River First Nations in their fight against the Cite C dam project. Most recently, the public revelations of mass graves of Indigenous children forced to attend residential schools thrust attention back on completing the reconciliation process.

“This pattern of cascading news about Indigenous peoples and rights, some of it massively upsetting and awful, some of it tense and confrontational, some of it as lean and uncertain, some of it seemingly positive. The bottom line is this is our current reconciliation reality. And I think it will be for quite some time,” said Wilson-Raybould in her first public speech since leaving cabinet in 2019.

She offered several observations on how mineral explorers could play a role in changing the status quo.

First, focus on authentic, not performative, reconciliation.

“Words matter. In my justice committee testimony during the SNC-Lavalin hearings in 2019, I was always taught to be careful with what you say because you cannot take it back.

An aspect of words is ensuring that their meaning remains true, where their substance is not devalued or altered in ways that reduce that meaning,” said Wilson-Raybould.

“This was a constant struggle in government and is a constant struggle in the work of reconciliation. And it is the reason why I think people often feel confused about what is happening.

“All actions are not equal. And not everything advances or equates to reconciliation,” said Wilson-Raybould.

She accused governments of doing this the most, labelling everything as an act of reconciliation.

“The point is that the real work, true reconciliation, can be hidden from view by symbolism and charades. Or worse, the symbolism becomes believed to be a substitute for true reconciliation,” said Wilson-Raybould.

“This is not to say lowering the flag or wearing a T-shirt does not have value. It does. We want to encourage honouring and recognition. Symbolism is important, including as a tool of education, but cannot be the core or foundation of our focus if we are at all serious about our society moving forward.”

Secondly, while UNDRIP legislation is important, it is not the core of the real work.

The UNDRIP legislation lacks what is really required actual mechanisms to effect tangible change on the ground in communities.

“What is really needed is concrete, tangible mechanisms for real transformative shifts at a scale and not one-offs, including mechanisms for supporting nation rebuilding and a self-directed, not negotiated, path out of the Indian Act. We need new national and provincial institutions to keep rebuilding legislative dispute resolution mechanisms to drive conflict into more consensus-based processes and out of the courts.

“We need new standards to guide the public service, so there is consistency and coherence across government in terms of approach and a new fiscal relationship, so that taxation and normal government forms of raising revenue are the foundation, rather than ad hoc approaches,” said Wilson-Raybould.

According to her, the existing tools are not good enough. She said the federal government committed to such a framework in 2018 but has not followed through to date. “That commitment document of 2018 spoke to creating a new institution to support governance, rebuilding and settling territorial disputes. It was to be in place by 2021. Still nothing,”  “said Wilson-Raybould.

Thirdly, Wilson-Raybould encouraged miners to understand and build on First Nations’ successes as primary change agents. “When I was regional chief, the foundation of our work was building on our success. It was about recognizing the work that has already been done, putting in place foundations for success and building on those focusing on the constructive work and putting in place pieces that systematically and coherently support positive movement forward.

“In this transition period, First Nations need partners, not only on economic matters and corporate governance but again in supporting nation rebuilding,” she said.

Lastly, she called upon industry to become the ‘inbetweeners,” said Wilson-Raybould.

“One of the legacies of colonialism is the building up of visible and invisible barriers and silos between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, and between crown governments and First Nations. I experienced this around the cabinet table.

“The way we do that is to cultivate inbetweeners, individuals and organizations learning to walk between and translate between the silos. It is not easy. It takes courage. It demands being uncomfortable. It often means breaking away from and out of expectations – the status quo,” said Wilson-Raybould.

“Continue to reimagine your role as inbetweeners. Advocate for and encourage the government to do the real work of legislating and establishing mechanisms to support nation-building and government by creating new dispute resolution mechanisms and institutional supports. As progress is made, it will make your relations with Indigenous peoples easier,” said Wilson-Raybould.