Introduction

This document provides an overview of the significant number of priorities and proposed measures shared by Indigenous peoples, to date and summarized by Justice Canada, in the context of developing a federal Action Plan to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration). It is intended to provide an accurate reflection of what we heard, rather than present an analysis or assessment of the concerns and priorities raised.

These priorities and proposed measures have been shared by:

Indigenous partners shared their priorities and proposed measures through various means from December 2021 to January 2023. Items included in this document will not all find a place in the Action Plan, and the inclusion of an item in this document should not be taken to mean that Canada has assessed or agreed to that item.

Since the information incorporated in this report is a synthesis of the priorities that have been expressed by Indigenous partners over the past year, this report presents a wide range of priorities and proposed measures that are sometimes contradictory to each other. Some may be mutually exclusive or may be in conflict with one another; no consensus should be assumed at this stage. Additionally, the report describes priorities in language taken from partners’ submissions, and as a result, there may be cases where similar ideas are described in various terms, or where specific terminology has been used in different and potentially inconsistent ways. 

While some priorities are being addressed by measures already underway, others are more complex, requiring funding, additional authorities, or in-depth policy discussions to address. The work towards the development of the Action Plan is ongoing. Note that it is important to distinguish between the priorities articulated broadly by some Indigenous partners during the first phase of the Declaration’s implementation process, from the specific articulated measures that will be contained in the upcoming Action Plan.

The ideal for collaborative work is to meet face to face, to share in the same physical space to allow for the best listening and exchange of ideas. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the work has mainly been virtual to respect health and safety concerns still affecting nations, communities and all citizens across Canada. To overcome the challenges of virtual collaboration, increased efforts toward clarifying and validating the priorities and potential measures put forward for consideration for the Action Plan were built into the process.

The task and responsibility of honouring the words and ideas of so many Indigenous partners and reflecting them back is considerable. Much work has been done and is still underway in various Indigenous nations, governments, communities and organizations across the country. We continue to work together, in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples, to understand priorities that will feed into the Action Plan to achieve the objectives of the Declaration. Various federal departments are involved in this work to ensure that measures will be concrete and actionable.

Reflecting that we are in the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032), we have incorporated key articles of the Declaration in different Indigenous languages throughout this report to make space for Indigenous languages and spark curiosity about the articles of the Declaration. We look forward to continuing to increase our use of Indigenous languages as part of our work going forward.

Measures proposed by partners that will likely be reflected in the Action Plan are those that demonstrate transformative action toward realizing the objectives of the Declaration. Measures reflected will also likely be in areas where there is emerging consensus among partners, and those that are foundational to unlocking other potential actions. This important work will continue in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples across Canada.