In the composition of his new Council of Ministers, Premier François Legault has the opportunity to correct an anomaly that has existed for several years and which is hindering the establishment of true “Nation-to-Nation” relations between the Quebec State and indigenous peoples.
Posted at 10:00 a.m.
When, in 1978, René Lévesque created the Secretariat for Native Affairs (which was then called the Secretariat for Government Activities in the Amerindian and Inuit Communities), it was the Premier who assumed responsibility for it himself.
This decision testified to the importance he attached to Aboriginal issues. It was also a decision based on the logic that this institution is not a service counter, but rather has the mandate to coordinate all government activities in Aboriginal matters.
The Secretariat for Native Affairs (SAA) is not a ministry. It is part of the Department of Executive Council, a department that reports directly to the Prime Minister. In addition, the mandate of the SAA, namely to “coordinate all government action in the Aboriginal community” and “to ensure consistency in the policies, interventions, initiatives and positions of the various departments and agencies of Quebec involved in this action”, makes attachment to the office of the Prime Minister inevitable. Finally, the very essence of the expression “Nation-to-Nation relations” only makes sense if, on the side of the Quebec State, these relations are under the responsibility of the Prime Minister.
After René Lévesque, even though the government created the position of “Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs”, the Prime Minister remained the minister responsible for Aboriginal issues until 2003. Since then, governments have created “ministers responsible” for Aboriginal affairs. Aboriginal Affairs. The first to do so was Bernard Landry. When he had just concluded the Peace of the Braves with the Cree Nation, he decided to appoint two Ministers of Native Affairs, a “responsible minister” and a “delegate minister”.
The following governments dropped the delegated minister and kept only the responsible minister, as if the SAA were a ministry. This decision has certainly harmed the mission of the Secretariat, its spokesperson having only one voice among many others in the Council of Ministers.
When the bearer of the file at the Cabinet table is the Prime Minister, one can imagine that his influence is quite different when it is necessary to convince his colleagues to adopt policies which may not necessarily be in interest of one or more ministries.
Consider the Department of Energy and Natural Resources, among others. The complexity of certain issues often requires trade-offs between different ministries, which become much easier to achieve when the responsibility rests with the highest government function and its representatives.
On the eve of composing his Council of Ministers, François Legault thus has the ideal opportunity to correct this situation and confirm his commitment, reiterated during the election campaign, to conclude “Nation-to-Nation relations agreements” with the peoples indigenous. Like René Lévesque, he too can retain the position of Minister responsible for Native Affairs and appoint a Minister Delegate to support him in this task.
Of course, it shouldn’t just be symbolic. The involvement of the Prime Minister and his office is fundamental to the future of relations between the state and Indigenous peoples. Nation-to-Nation relations can only really materialize if they are under the responsibility of the leaders of these nations.