Canadians Want Strong Aboriginal Cultures but are Divided on Aboriginal Rights
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Three of every four Canadians think that it is beneficial to all Canadians that the distinctive cultures of aboriginal peoples remain strong.
At the same time, there is a growing feeling that relations between Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians are improving.
These findings – released this week — are from Portraits of Canada, the annual tracking survey conducted by the Centre for Research and Information on Canada (CRIC).
While a plurality of Canadians say that relations are staying the same, the number who think that they are deteriorating has fallen significantly in three years, from 31% in 2000 to 20% in 2003. This change has been felt in all regions, but is especially marked in Atlantic Canada. In 2000, 42% of Atlantic Canadians thought relations between Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians were worsening. This year, the figure was 22%
However, there is still strain. Canadians are divided on issues that relate to land claims and Aboriginal rights. While 45% feel that all or many land claims made by Aboriginals are valid, 49% believe that few or none are valid.
Nationally the number of those who consider all or many land claims as valid has remained relatively unchanged in recent years.
But there have been significant developments in regional trends.
In Quebec, the number of those who believe that Aboriginal land claims are mostly valid has increased steadily since 1998, reaching a high of 47% in 2003.
However, in the Prairie Provinces, only 38% of residents currently believe that most land claims made by Aboriginal peoples are valid, down from 47% in 1999.
Prairies more skeptical
Canadians in the Prairies are also more skeptical about the importance of settling land claims and advancing self-government.
Nationally, 53% of Canadians believe that it would be better to settle outstanding land claims with Aboriginal peoples and give them needed powers to govern their own communities.
However, 42% take the view that it would be better to do away with Aboriginal Treaty rights and treat Aboriginal people the same as other Canadians. This latter option was proposed by the Government of Canada in a white paper published in 1969, but was quickly abandoned in the face of protest.
Such a course of action would now be unconstitutional, since the Constitution explicitly protects Treaty rights.
Nonetheless, in the Prairies, 54% would prefer to do away with Aboriginal Treaty rights.
The strongest opposition to settling claims and providing for self-government exists in Saskatchewan, which along with Manitoba, has the highest number of Aboriginals as a percentage of population among the 10 provinces. In both cases, Aboriginals make up 14% of the population. Sixty-two percent of people in Saskatchewan say that it would be better to do away with Aboriginal Treaty rights, while 35% would prefer to settle land claims and advance self-government.
Hunting and fishing rights
While a majority of Canadians would support settling land claims and providing for self-government, only 35% support the idea that Aboriginal peoples should have preferential access to hunting and fishing grounds in areas where they have traditionally lived. Sixty-three percent think that governments should treat everyone the same when it comes to regulating hunting and fishing grounds. And this attitude prevails, although Canadian courts have consistently supported the view that Aboriginal rights include rights to the land and its resources.
Once again, Canadians in Saskatchewan are among the most opposed, with 73% saying that governments should treat everyone the same when it comes to regulating access to hunting and fishing grounds, but opposition is also strong in Atlantic Canada (74%) and British Columbia (71%).
Dr. Andrew Parkin, Co-Director of CRIC says that the polling data indicate that “Canadians say that they value Aboriginal culture and want Aboriginal communities to prosper, but are uncomfortable with arrangements that suggest that Aboriginal people might be treated differently than other Canadians. Many are probably not aware, however, that Aboriginal rights, including Treaty rights, are entrenched in the Constitution. In fact previous studies have shown that public support for Treaty rights rises when people are informed that these rights are constitutionally protected.
“The survey raises the question about whether Canadians receive enough information about Aboriginal issues, and about whether there has been enough dialogue among citizens about how the recognition of Aboriginal rights can be reconciled with Canadians' desire for equality.”
Challenges underestimated
The survey also suggests that Canadians might underestimate the challenges faced by many Aboriginal communities.
While 44% of Canadians say that Aboriginal peoples are worse off than other Canadians, 51% think that their situation is the same or better than that of other Canadians. This is in spite of findings this year, such as those published by the Auditor General of Canada in April, which highlighted the continued critical shortage of adequate housing on reserves, and findings released by Statistics Canada in September that point to concerns about health, education, housing and water safety for Aboriginal peoples living off-reserve.
Canadians are also less sympathetic to the plight of Aboriginal peoples living in poverty than that of other poor Canadians. Generally, 57% say that poverty should be blamed on circumstances beyond a poor person's control, and not lack of effort. However, this figure falls to 48% in the case of an Aboriginal person who is poor. When asked about the poverty of a recent new immigrant to Canada, a much higher percentage of Canadians blame circumstances beyond his or her control (70%).
Dr. Parkin said these findings “suggest that Canadians' views on Aboriginal issues may still be informed by unfortunate stereotypes about Aboriginal peoples.”
Northern perspectives
Results from the three northern territories show that Canadians in this region have different views on Aboriginal issues. While 45% of Canadians believe that all or many land claims made by Aboriginal peoples are valid, 54% in the North agree; 40% of Canadians in the North say that few or none are valid, compared to 49% of Canadians as a whole.
These results are in part due to the larger Aboriginal populations in this region, but even non-Aboriginal northerners have different views than other Canadians.
For example, nationally, 42% would do away with Aboriginal Treaty rights and treat Aboriginal peoples the same as other Canadians. However, among non-Aboriginal people living in the territories, only 34% agree.
Across Canada, 53% would prefer to settle outstanding land claims with Aboriginal peoples, and give them the powers to govern their own communities, compared with 64% of non-Aboriginals in the North.
Nationally, 63% say that when governments regulate access to hunting and fishing grounds they should treat everyone the same, but in the North 50% of non-Aboriginal people agree. Fifty percent of non-Aboriginal people in the North believe that Aboriginal peoples should have some type of preferential access to hunting and fishing in areas where, historically, they have lived. Nationally, only 35% agree.
The full poll, including graphics and additional breakdowns, is available on the CRIC website.
@ November 28, 2003