The Assembly of First Nations wants it to be mandatory that Indigenous Canadians are part of the formal consultation on all new foreign treaties.
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“First Nations have engaged in trade since time immemorial,” reads an Assembly submission to the Senate foreign affairs committee, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
“First Nations hold an inherent right to self-determination including policies, regulations and legislation that dictate their participation and engagement in inter-nation, international and internal trade.”
The Assembly said cabinet “must engage directly with First Nations in the implementation of any future trade and investment agreement to ensure benefits of Canada’s trade diversification reach First Nations.”
Passage of Bill C-13
The reason for the submission was Parliament’s April 28 passage of Bill C-13, An Act To Implement The Protocol On The Accession Of The United Kingdom To The Comprehensive Agreement For Trans-Pacific Partnership.
“Canada has the obligation to consult with First Nations before adopting and implementing legislation impacting First Nations people, lands, territories and other resources,” wrote the Assembly.
“New international trade and investment agreements are an opportunity to further support First Nations economic inclusion and self-determination,” it added.
Parliament has never mandated First Nations’ approval of foreign treaties but the Senate foreign affairs committee said in a 2017 report that cabinet must itemize costs and benefits connected to individual trade pacts.
“The government announces, ‘We’re in negotiations with country X’, then a year or two later, here’s the agreement, and it’s usually take it or leave it,” Sen. Percy Downe, then-vice chair of the committee, said at the time.
“Nothing can be changed. You can’t change a comma. Then various groups look at it, say they were consulted in a general sense, but they didn’t know the specifics, at which point they’re boxed in.”