There is a systemic injustice against the indigenous peoples of Canada. For a long time the indigenous community has fought for equal rights and still are working toward them. Colonization has put the community at a disadvantage because they have systems working against their interests. It has gone so far that “Canada’s treatment of its indigenous peoples has been described as a ‘cultural genocide'” (Rees).
There are activist trying to stop the trans U.S.-Canada oil pipeline: Line 3 which will be very harming to the community. “Houska and other activists say any spills would cause “irreparable” harm to bodies of water where local tribes fish, harvest wild rice and hold treaty rights” (Tigue). There is a way to prevent so much damage but politicians are more willing to please a party rather than help the people. Biden wants to stay friendly with the Republican Party and the Canadian Government so he has still not decided whether to stop the pipeline building or let something so destructive be continued.
Indigenous people of Canada who live on a reserve do not own the land they live on; Under the Indian Act they do not own their land and instead it is held by the government, this causes the people living at these reserves to not have the same rights as any other Canadian citizen. They cannot buy and sell their land which would lead to them gaining wealth and building equity, Bains says, “…full property rights on reserves… it’s shown to promote prosperity and social and economic wellbeing for those who need it most” (Bains). They also go on to say “In Canada today there are three groups of people who cannot legally own property: children, the mentally incompetent and First Nations people who live on a reserve” (Bains) this creates a disadvantage to the community because they are considered unable (like children or mentally incompetent people) to have control over what should be their own property. This is systemic because like what happened to the Black community when they were prevented from buying houses it causes a long term effect for generations on the wealth of the families. More recently for First Nations to own their own land they have to qualify to see if they are truly considered indigenous or not, this decision is one that shouldn’t be made by an outsider, it shouldn’t be a job to say if someone is indigenous or not.
https://youtu.be/7GmX5stT9rU This link will take you to a video covering a lot more systemic injustices occurring in Canada and likewise the U.S. I highly recommend taking the time to watch this, it elaborated on a couple of the things I touched on.
Works Cited:
Bains, Ravina. “BLOG: Property Rights for All Canadians: the First Nations Issue Forgotten by All Federal Political Parties.” Fraser Institute, 19 May 2020, www.fraserinstitute.org/blogs/property-rights-for-all-canadians-the-first-nations-issue-forgotten-by-all-federal-political-parties.
Rees, William. “Canada’s First Nations.” History Today, 9 Sept. 2018, www.historytoday.com/history-matters/canada%E2%80%99s-first-nations.
Tigue, Kristoffer. “Urging Biden to Stop Line 3, Indigenous-Led Resistance Camps Ramp Up Efforts to Slow Construction.” Inside Climate News, 12 Mar. 2021, insideclimatenews.org/news/16022021/biden-line-3-minnesota-enbridge-pipeline-indigenous-resistance/.