Will action on reconciliation emerge as an election issue? – IRPP

August 24, 2021

After the discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools, political leaders won’t be able to ignore commitments to advance reconciliation.

Canadians are heading into a Sept. 20 election on the heels of a summer defined by hard truths and confrontations with our country’s violent colonial past. While some are framing the election as a referendum on Canada’s response to the pandemic, the decision that voters face is also set against a backdrop of growing calls for action on reconciliation. A 2021 Confederation of Tomorrow survey found that 60 per cent of Indigenous people and 42 per cent of non-Indigenous Canadians think governments have not gone far enough to advance reconciliation. Will this shape the debate?

The recent work by the Centre of Excellence on the Canadian Federation at the Institute for Research on Public Policy provides valuable context on COVID-19, the implementation of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the role of settlers in the challenges ahead. The pandemic must not overshadow electoral commitments that advance reconciliation.

Read More: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/august-2021/will-action-on-reconciliation-emerge-as-an-election-issue/