In a couple of weeks we’ll see if Canada’s hard work at the recent UN World Summit on Social Development to water down the summit’s Declaration on Social Development (see last issue) was successful.
No copies of the final declaration are available in Canada at the moment.
An internal government fax obtained by The Nation showed that Canada is working behind the scenes at the UN to undermine indigenous rights. In the fax, which contains notes from a Jan. 18 conference call between six federal officials, the draft declaration’s wording was criticized because it could imply “potential financial and other implications.” Marilyn Whitaker, director of policy and strategic direction at Indian Affairs, confirmed the authenticity of the fax.
“There was a conference call and the fax was reflecting the conference call,” she told The Nation.
But Whitaker was clear that this fax was not an Indian Affairs document, but one involving opinions from many federal departments.
She denied Canada tried to undermine recognition of indigenous rights. “Oh no. I think what you have to understand is we had thought this was a process where we were being asked for comment to see if sometimes you can clarify certain terms,” she said.
“What we were trying to do was simply comment and provide clarification on some points to bear in mind in terms of overall Canadian positions.” We asked whether Canada is concerned the declaration may force more spending on Natives. Whitaker said, “I think when we’re in negotiations we bear in mind things. The Canadian position was to bear in mind issues in terms of potential cost and so forth.” She said the Liberals still support Native rights. “A priority for Canada has been to increase references to Aboriginal groups within the (draft UN) document. I think Canada was one of the first countries to raise indigenous issues.” Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin and his staff have yet to comment on the document.
