From the cover page of the 1996 secret federal government document. "Guidelines for Federal Self-government Negotiators (Number 1): Language for Recognizing the Inherent Right of Self-Government in Agreements and Treaties."
In 2018, in a speech announcing his government’s “Rights Recognition Framework” in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated “we will replace policies like the Comprehensive Land Claims Policy and the Inherent Right to Self-Government Policy with new and better approaches that respect the distinctions between First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.”
It is 2022 and the Trudeau government hasn’t replaced the Inherent Right to Self-Government Policy.
The so-called “Inherent Right Policy” was imposed in 1995 by the then Prime Minister Jean Chretien to convert Indian Act Bands into municipal-type governments. For more info, see the 1997 federal government document Implementation of Indigenous Inherent Right and Negotiation of Self-Government.
This secret 1996 “Guidelines for Federal Self-Government Negotiators” document is still relevant because the policy hasn’t been replaced as Prime Minister Trudeau promised in 2018 and it reflects the Department of Justice thinking about the “Inherent Right” to self-government.
Click the file below to access the document.
