Citizens Plus

Canada is in the midst of a fundamental re-evaluation of the desired relation of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples to each other, and of how the former are to be institutionally and constitutionally accommodated within the country. Words matter. How we think about where we are and about the future goal of our relationship can confine us in an intellectual prison or liberate us from choices we will otherwise regret. This study unravels the historical record to clarify the impasse in negotiations between Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian state. It considers the assimilations policy assumptions of the imperial era, examines more recent government initiatives and analyzes the emergence of the nation-to-nation paradigm given massive support by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Popeles. The Canadian people are battered by contending visions, the author argues - a revised assimilation policy that finds its support in the Reform Party is countered by the nation-to-nation vision, which frames Canada's future as coexisting solitudes.
This investigation stakes out a middle ground with its support for constitutional and institutional arrangements which will simultaneously recognize Aboriginal difference and reinforce a solidarity which binds all together in common citizenship. Useful reading for those in political science, history, Native studies, public administration and law, this should also appeal to the general public interested in one of the most important and complex issues on the Canadian agenda.