Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

June 21 marks the summer solstice, which has been celebrated for centuries by many Aboriginal communities. In 1996, the Parliament of Canada proclaimed June 21st as National Aboriginal Peoples’ Day.

National Aboriginal Peoples’ Day is an opportunity for PSAC to express solidarity with Aboriginal Peoples and support the call for a better life for all Aboriginal Peoples. This is also an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Aboriginal Peoples in our communities and our Union. The day is of such significance that there has been a call to have this day recognized as a national statutory holiday which would allow all Aboriginal Peoples and other people in Canada to celebrate the important contributions of Aboriginal Peoples.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis people continue to make important contributions in the struggle for social justice, equality and workers’ and human rights.

Recently, the federal government issued an apology for the appalling treatment of Aboriginal children in residential schools, including removal from their families and communities.

In addition, Bill C-21 has received Royal Assent which extends human rights protection to First Nations peoples living under the Indian Act. After more than 30 years, First Nations peoples in Canada finally have access to the same level of fundamental human rights protection that most Canadians take for granted.

However, the federal government has failed to address the injustice of Aboriginal poverty, including lack of access to education, employment, housing, water, health care and other basic social services.

More than 12 years ago, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples made extensive recommendations to improve the situation of Aboriginal Peoples, however, these recommendations were either ignored or ineffectively implemented.

The Canadian government has refused to sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Aboriginal Peoples and backed away from the Kelowna Accord that dedicated $5.1 billion to improving the socioeconomic conditions of Aboriginal people in Canada. A bill to resurrect the Kelowna Accord for First Nations was recently supported by opposition parties but the Conservative federal government has refused to enact it.

The current Harper government is turning its back on Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. Strong, vibrant, healthy and prosperous Aboriginal communities make for a better and more equitable country. What we need is the political will to make it happen.

PSAC encourages members in every region of Canada to celebrate National Aboriginal Peoples’ Day by organizing and participating in events with Aboriginal members of the Union.

For more information on the political and social issues facing Aboriginal Peoples, see the following fact sheets:

• Making Aboriginal poverty history
• First Nations water reaches its boiling point
• Ending violence against Aboriginal women