Canada's First Nations understand Coalition Governance

by William Morin

Since when has working together become a bad thing? I recall learning that in kindergarten. I hope that is where the Prime Minister is heading during this "running scared" suspension of Parliament. Many countries around the world including Canada have a history and understanding of the benefits of working together in coalition governments. Historically, the British North American Act was an agreement similar to a coalition, between Britain and one of its colonies, Canada.

The Prime Minister has been proven to be hypocritical in his attach of the Liberal and the NDP coalition agreement with the Bloc Québécois. Most Canadians would hope that with a humiliation there comes an act of humility. The dilemma here is if humility is not part of your value system where is the humanity? Mr. Harper, where is your humanity?

The attacks of this partnership between Liberals, socialists and separatists included talks about English and French Canada. Duceppe listed conditions for Quebec's support of a coalition government. These conditions go beyond that of the Federal Clarity Act that defines the conditions that would allow Quebec to secede from Canada.

The economic issues facing all Canadians in this recession go beyond record highs in unemployment but for many, poverty. For the average Canadian these two realities are hard to live with. For many First Nations peoples in Canada living in a recession has been a reality since contact. We First Nations peoples have learned to survive hardship in this land for thousands of years and we see it as a birth right to the land, long before contact up to today and beyond. In forming Canada's Constitution agreements had to be made with the original inhabitants, the First Nations.

Therefore, by definition, these agreements and hundreds of treaties are in themselves the foundation of Canada's first coalition. However, with so many treaties not being honoured, and the exclusion of First Nations peoples from all levels of Government since contact, Canada gets a failing grade in "effective coalition governance."

With two recessions in the past 20 years and 4 world wars in this century alone it seems the current government and "modern man's" system of governing needs fixing. One of its flaws is its exclusionary value system. With a Conservative despot method of leadership only reflects and confirms the inhuman values of politics today.

Any country that excludes its indigenous peoples from their systems of government is a colonial country. Based on that continued exclusion in modern Canadian society the First Peoples National Party of Canada (FPNP) was formed. A handful of candidate ran in the last two federal elections. Since the forming of the First Peoples National Party in 2005, Canada's First Nations Peoples finally see hope in a party willing to bring the First Nations voice to Parliament, a voice that has been ignored or silenced since Confederation.

The inclusion of the First Peoples National Party in a coalition government would enable the contribution of First Nations values, voices and perspectives. Let's just image, if these values and perspective were included in the value system of government, since Confederation, Canada and the world might have been a more humane place.

Equally as suggestive, if many of the issues facing First Nations communities and First Nations peoples had been addressed by the government in the past, we would have solutions to problems facing all Canadians today. If working together is a good thing, let's not begin again on the wrong foot by being exclusive of Canada's First Nations.

Oh ya, the Iroquois Confederacy was a type of "coalition government" similar to many other confederacies in the Americas before contact. It was no surprise that the writers of the "American Declaration of Independence" based it on these Confederacies, pre-contact and existing systems of governance.

About the writer:

William Morin is the Eastern Director of the First Peoples National Party of Canada.

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