Building
Bridges between the North and South Pacific
Remarks for the Hon. David Kilgour, P.C.,
M.P.
Secretary
of State (Asia-Pacific) and Member of Parliament
for Edmonton-Southeast
Pacific Peoples’
Partnership Networking Conference
The University
of Victoria, Victoria, B.C.
September
21, 2002
*Check Against
Delivery
It
is a great pleasure to be here in beautiful
Victoria, an area where indigenous peoples
have gathered and worked for many centuries.
What better locale than the University of
Victoria; arguably Canada’s “Pacific
Rim university.” Hopefully you’ve
discovered in the last few days why this
institution is so highly regarded for its
success in building academic and cultural
bridges across the Pacific.
The Pacific
Peoples’ Partnership, our gracious
hosts, should be equally commended for their
work to this end and for organizing this
three day networking conference. It should
be recognized that this small NGO, with
only 2 permanent staff and a handful of
volunteers, has connected Pacific Islanders
and Canadians for the past 27 years, and
through their youth-to-youth project, has
sent almost 50 First Nations young people
to the Islands of the South Pacific.
The presence
of all of us is testament to their dedication
and tireless efforts to promote an increased
understanding of social justice, environmental,
and development issues of the South Pacific
in Canada. My own presence hopefully indicates
the government of Canada’s commitment
to these same goals.
Canada and
the South Pacific
The fit between
Canada and the nations of the South Pacific
is far from self-evident. As a country more
often associated with freezing winters and
ice hockey, some might consider us ill-suited
to understand the challenges faced by Pacific
Islanders. Canadians, and probably most
North Americans for that matter, have a
fairly limited perspective of the South
Pacific – generally to do with dream
vacations rather than social and economic
development.
In fact,
the Canadian government has been active
in the Pacific Islands for more than thirty
years. We are a dialogue partner in the
Pacific Island Forum and a modest, but well-regarded,
donor country. Our goal is to foster sustainable
development as a vehicle for promoting economic
progress and regional stability. Our insights
into these areas are in part fuelled by
the shared experiences of the indigenous
peoples of Canada and the Pacific. As this
conference demonstrates, our indigenous
peoples have a shared history of struggle
and innovation in their efforts to develop
sustainable models of governance and helping
peoples gain control over local resources
and economic development.
Canada’s
aboriginal peoples
Canada’s
commitment to these goals for its indigenous
peoples was captured in the January 2001
speech from the Throne:
“Nowhere
is the creation and sharing of opportunity
more important than for Aboriginal people.
Too many continue to live in poverty, without
the tools they need to build a better future
for themselves or their communities. As
a country, we must be direct about the magnitude
of the challenge and ambitious in our commitment
to tackle the most pressing problems facing
Aboriginal people...”
I could not
stand in front of you today and say that
many Canadian governments have been successful
in their relationship with the indigenous
people of Canada. We have been criticized,
at times with good reason, at home and abroad.
There continue to be unresolved differences,
often rooted in land claims and the treaty
relationship.
Sadly, indigenous
people continue to be more likely than other
Canadians to receive social welfare, to
be unemployed, to live in poverty, and to
face increased health risks. As a Member
of Parliament from Alberta, the legacy of
physical, sexual and cultural abuse at residential
schools has profoundly affected me, as it
has millions of other Canadians.
While acknowledging
these numerous historical problems, the
future is getting brighter. The indigenous
peoples of Canada recognize the need for
change and in large part are driving this
change themselves. My colleague Bob Nault,
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development, has been leading a cross country
consultation to over 200 communities on
a proposed First Nations Governance Bill.
To date, more than 10,000 First Nations
men and women have taken part. Per capita,
that is equivalent to having one million
Canadians participate in a similar national
exercise – a scale never before seen
in Canada.
With federal
government support, First Nations are developing
local initiatives to improve governance,
accountability, and hence their economic
development and quality of life. In addition,
Aboriginal entrepreneurship is on the rise
and is growing at twice the Canadian average.
According to Aboriginal Business Canada,
there are now more than 25,000 Aboriginal
businesses across the country. We are seeing
a new wave of entrepreneurship, with Aboriginal
people developing new products, services
and ideas and bringing them to market. As
a result, First Nations are participating
more fully in the Canadian and international
economy, while taking control of economic
development in their communities.
One piece
of legislation that has attempted to do
just this – you might already be familiar
with it – is the First Nations Fiscal
and Statistical Management Act. The product
of a First Nations-led initiative, the act
will establish four pubic institutions:
a Finance Authority, a Tax Commission, a
Financial Management Board and a Statistical
Institute; which will be operated by and
for First Nations. They are designed to
provide First Nations with the tools of
modern fiscal management, thereby helping
them meet the immediate practical needs
of individual communities. If you’re
interested in obtaining further information,
you can find it at www.fnfi.ca.
International
indigenous affairs
Canadians
bring these experiences and others to the
international arena of indigenous affairs.
We try to integrate such concerns into a
wide-range of issues: economic and social
development, cultural and academic affairs,
trade, environment, and human rights. We
are working in partnership with National
Canadian Aboriginal Organizations to develop
a capacity within local communities to fully
implement their international interests.
This agenda includes supporting exchanges
between indigenous people in Canada and
their counterparts in Asia, Africa, and
Latin America; and supporting organizations
like the Pacific Peoples’ Partnership.
When the
United Nations General Assembly proclaimed
the International Decade for the World’s
Indigenous Peoples in 1995, with the theme
“Indigenous people, partnership in
action,” it specified strengthening
international cooperation on problems faced
by indigenous peoples. Such cooperation
- whether between governments or of the
kind demonstrated here this weekend - will
enrich our efforts to develop and implement
just and constructive policies, for the
world’s indigenous peoples and more
broadly, for all society.
One of the
goals of the Decade is to establish a Permanent
Forum on Indigenous Issues. Canada was instrumental
in establishing the Permanent Forum, which
met for the first time in May 2002. Its
role is to raise awareness and promote the
integration and coordination of activities
relating to indigenous issues within the
UN system. The UN system needs to be streamlined
when it comes to indigenous issues, needs,
and priorities. The Commission therefore
must be imaginative and flexible in exploring
how the mandates, mission statements and
work plans of various UN agencies can make
indigenous concerns more central to their
priorities.
Canada was
instrumental in ensuring the inclusion of
strong and effective commitments on indigenous
people's issues in the Declarations and
Plans of Action for the 3rd Summit of the
Americas, held in Quebec City in April 2001;
and in the United Nations World Conference
on Racism, held in Durban in September 2001.
We were proud to support and participate
in the Indigenous People's Summit of the
Americas, held in Ottawa in March 2001.
The Fourth
Way
What these
examples highlight is the international
momentum that exists for integrating indigenous
perspectives into global decision making
processes. One very interesting event that
took place earlier this year was the Reunion
of the Condor and Eagle Indigenous Action
Summit in Dominica. The Summit was in large
part organized by Four World's International,
a small NGO based in Lethbridge, Alberta
(http://home.uleth.ca/~4worlds), with the
support of the Chief and Council of the
Carib Territories of the Government of the
Commonwealth of Dominica and the Government
of Canada. Joining the ten days of intense
deliberations were indigenous business,
community and development leaders from throughout
the Caribbean and across the Americas, social
development practitioners, non-governmental
organizations, and government officials
from Canada, Guatemala, Dominica, and Peru.
Together, they discussed solutions to the
challenges of the 21st century and explored
and developed joint business and social
initiatives. At the heart of their discussions
was the fundamental belief in a "Fourth
Way" to pursue sustainable peace and
development - a "way" of healing,
peace, and partnership building.
There is
a definite congruency between, on the one
hand, seemingly bureaucratic initiatives
at the United Nations, and the other, grass-roots
level projects such as the Reunion of the
Condor and Eagle Indigenous Action Summit
in Dominica or this conference today. Indigenous
leaders and governments are working hand
in hand not only to improve governance and
social conditions in indigenous communities,
but to ensure that indigenous peoples experiences
and insights is included how we - the larger,
collective we - react to a rapidly globalizing
world.
One unfortunate
reality is that indigenous peoples find
themselves at the centre of numerous conflicts
in some highly publicized such in Afghanistan
and Columbia, others less well known, such
as in the Solomon Islands and Burma. Moreover,
a significant portion of the world's current
natural resource development, agricultural
and other related economic activities, including
petroleum and gas production, takes place
on or near traditional indigenous lands.
Future exploration and production will require
further involvement of Indigenous peoples.
Therefore, an important part of the key
to diffusing conflict and ensuring economic
and resource development is truly sustainable
is to develop an understanding of what it
is like to see the world (past, present
and future) through the eyes of indigenous
peoples. Ignoring such perspectives would
be at everyone’s peril.
Canadian
development assistance in the South Pacific
It is such
reasoning that in part motivates my agenda,
as Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific,
to improve contacts with Canada’s friends
in the South Pacific. Seven months into
this position, I’ve learnt a great
deal about the parallels of the challenges
faced by indigenous communities in the South
Pacific and in Canada. I have already visited
Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji in my new
portfolio. In the first two, a strong case
was made for strengthening Canada’s
linkages with the South Pacific, in meetings
with indigenous leaders, senior government
ministers and representatives of South Pacific
nations. In New Zealand, I was fortunate
enough to spend several hours in the company
of Sir Paul Reeves (former-Governor General)
and Sir Douglas Graham (former National
Party Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi
negotiations), whom I know a number of you
have worked with closely.
While in
Fiji this July, I was very proud to announce
a three year, $500,000 commitment to strengthening
civil society in the Pacific. Indigenous
NGO activity in the Pacific is a relatively
new phenomena, whose capacity is still quite
limited. As island governments, faced with
serious fiscal constraints, are forced to
cut social program funding, the need for
NGOs to provide certain services has substantially
increased. To assist in the strengthening
of the NGO sector, CIDA, in cooperation
with the UNDP, is undertaking a program
to assist Pacific NGOs to plan, implement,
manage and monitor projects. This initiative
will strengthen the network of Pacific Islands
Association of NGOs at the national and
regional level and provide local NGOs with
technical assistance, workshops and training
to learn more about how they can improve
the quality of life of people in the Pacific.
This support
is part of the more than $150 million Canadians
have contributed in official development
assistance to the Pacific ones the last
30 years. Canada’s approach to aid
in the region is shaped by the region’s
small population base and limited natural
wealth, as well as the evident importance
of ocean resources. Some of you may be familiar
with the Canada-South Pacific Ocean Development
Program – a seven year, $14 million
initiative with strategic focus on the sustainable
development and protection of the South
Pacific’s ocean and marine resources.
Similarly, Canada has recently approved
a $2.3 million contribution to the Pacific
Islands Climate Change Assistance Program.
This project will strengthen Pacific Island
nations’ abilities to develop capacity
building programs, projects, and activities
to lessen the adverse impacts of climate
change.
The three
initiatives I’ve so far mentioned –
NGO capacity building, C-SPOD and climate
change – illustrate our efforts to
build on the experience and know-how of
the South Pacific’s indigenous populations
and organizations. A smaller, more “hands-on,”
aspect of our aid-program is the Canada
Fund, administered from our High Commissions
in Wellington and Canberra. This is a mechanism
that responds to local needs and provides
short-term support for projects at the community
level through local NGOs and other grass-roots
organizations such as village councils,
co-operatives and women’s groups. This
is perhaps best illustrated by a couple
of examples:
- in Tuvalu, the Canada Fund is being used
to build pre-schools on 8 outer islands;
- in Samoa, the Canada Fund was used to supply
first aid medical kits to over 200 rural
villages and to train local women in basic
first aid;
- and in Papua New Guinea, community fishing
projects have been developed to generate
income for remote communities.
There are
at least several hundred other high-impact
and relatively low cost projects, but given
that I’ve already spoken for fifteen
minutes, I’ll only mention two more
– directly related to indigenous issues
in the South Pacific. The first is a project
titled “A Global Cross-Cultural Exchange
Among Indigenous Women 2002.” This
is a radio and print initiative highlighting
a cross-cultural exchange between indigenous
women from Canada, South Africa, Guyana
and Fiji. The project is designed to show
the role of indigenous women’s groups
in their own economic, political, social
and cultural contexts.
Finally,
bringing this talk back to where it started
-- lauding the Pacific Peoples’ Partnership
-- right now in Suva, there is a young Canadians/First
Nations lawyer, originally identified by
the Pacific Peoples’ Partnership and
now paid for by the Canadian taxpayer, as
a participant in the government’s Youth
International Internship Program. As I’m
sure some of you know him, and having met
him in Fiji, I can say that we’re proud
to have Alexander Wolf there.
Conclusion
The case
of Wolf’s internship brings to light
what the Government of Canada is trying
to do, domestically and internationally,
to approach the concerns and contributions
of Canada’s aboriginal peoples head
on. We have had major difficulties, we admit,
but the future is getting brighter. Aboriginal
communities and individuals, like Wolf,
are leading the way in establishing new
frames of thought and models of governance
to ensure that economic, social, and political
development occurs in line with local value
systems -- whether in Canada or in the South
Pacific. Conferences like this one, like
the one in Dominica, like at the Permanent
Forum in the UN, allow experiences and ideas
to be shared; ideas that will ensure just
and constructive policies for indigenous
peoples are implemented. Please be assured,
the Government of Canada will be there to
show its support.
Let me leave
you then with a quote:
“You
cannot know me until you’ve walked
a mile in my moccasins.”
So help me
get to know you. I would like to hear your
views on how can we better incorporate indigenous
concerns into the international arena? What
areas do you see as priority for Canadian
engagement in the Pacific? If I can’t
answer your questions adequately, I’ll
be sure to bring it to the attention of
my colleague Susan Whelan (Minister of International
Cooperation) and Bob Nault (Minister of
Indian and Northern Development).
Thank you.
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