(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in Canada believe their federal administration should act on pending Aboriginal concerns, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 71 per cent of respondents believe the government should speed-up existing Aboriginal land claims disputes, and 64 per cent want Ottawa to do more to deal with poverty in Aboriginal communities.

According to the 2001 census, more than 900,000 Aboriginal persons inhabit Canada. In the 1990s, the Canadian government established the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples to assess the success or failure of past policies and develop recommendations for future programs and projects. Nunavut and the Northwest Territories give official status to Aboriginal languages.

Canadians renewed the House of Commons in January 2006. The Conservative party—led by Stephen Harper—received 36.3 per cent of the vote, and secured 124 seats in the 308-member lower house. Harper leads a minority administration after more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party.

On Jun. 12, Harper announced major reforms to advance the process of Aboriginal land claims, saying, "Instead of letting disputes over land and compensation drag on forever, fuelling frustration and uncertainty, they will be solved once and for all by impartial judges on a new Specific Claims Tribunal."

Canadians are divided on the way their government dealt with the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 29 per cent of respondents think the federal administration was right to vote against the declaration, while 29 per cent disagree, and 42 per cent are not sure.

Earlier this month, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion urged Harper to sign the UN declaration "without delay", adding, "The face that Canadians want to show the world is that of a Canada who is a defender of human rights. We should never shy away from the responsibility that comes with this vision."

Indian affairs minister Jim Prentice defended the government's position, saying, "(The declaration's) wording is inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, our Constitution Act, previous Supreme Court decisions, the National Defence Act and policies under which we negotiate treaties."

Polling Data

Do you agree or disagree with these statements?
("Agree" listed)

As you may know, Canada and Russia were the only members of the United Nations Human Rights Council to vote against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples—which provides minimum international standards for the protection of the dignity, well being and survival of the world's Indigenous Peoples—in June 2006. Which of these statements comes closer to your own point of view?

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