Thirteen Things That Can’t Be Said About Aboriginal Law And Policy In Canada

The following outstanding piece of writing and scholarship by Bruce Pardy, respected Professor of Law, Queen’s University and Executive Director, Rights Probe (see https://www.rightsprobe.org/ ), highlights 13 topics of aboriginal law and policy that now invite scorn or worse if openly discussed and criticized.

Reading and pondering Professor Pardy’s concerns in one of Canada’s leading journals is a window to understanding why indigenous issues — what used to called “the Indian problem” — is our country’s most important but intractable public policy issue.

The introduction to the essay argued that:

How do you make new laws and policies or reform old ones in a democracy? You talk openly about every aspect, carefully consider the pros and cons and the long-term implications, and strive to come up with solutions that are fair to everyone. That has been the ideal, anyway, in Canada since Confederation. So what happens when vast areas of law and policy cannot even be discussed any longer? Bruce Pardy lists the things that have become perilous to say regarding Indigenous issues – but that need to be said if Canada is to maintain a legal system that is fair to all Canadians.

To access this important piece of carefully researched and beautifully crafted material, simply read below.