Information Session with Indigenous Groups

ROUNDTABLE ON DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE

Information Session with Aboriginal Organizations on the Special Summit of the Americas - Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, November 19, 2003

On November 19, 2003, at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Assistant Deputy Minister (Americas) Marc Lortie led an information exchange session with representatives from the Assembly of First Nations (Marie Frawley-Henry, Director of International Affairs, Ajay Chopra, Inter-Governmental Affairs Advisor), the Metis National Council (Pierre Lefebvre, Administrator), the Inuit Circumpolar Conference Canada (Duane Smith, President), the Native Women's Association of Canada (Sherry Lewis, Executive Director) and the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (Patrick Brazeau, Governance Coordinator).

Mr. Lortie opened the session by outlining recent developments in the hemisphere since the Quebec City Summit in 2001 and emphasizing the need for leaders to regroup and discuss some of the challenges the hemisphere has faced over the past two years, politically, socially and economically. Economies are stagnant and there is a lot of political unrest in the region. Leaders need to come together to address these issues and find ways to restore confidence in the region.

Although there will be no new Plan of Action coming out of the Special Summit, certain key initiatives will give impetus to hemispheric cooperation as the region prepares for the IV Summit of the Americas, in Argentina, in 2005. Substantive preparations for the Special Summit formally began at a meeting of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG), September 21-22, 2003. The Special Summit, meant to reinject momentum in the Quebec City Summit Plan of Action, will touch on the three main themes: Economic Growth with Equity, Democratic Governance, and Social Development. It is intended to focus on specific themes such as Health and Education and the reaffirmation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) will not be part of the formal agenda.

Mr. Lortie stressed that substantial gains were made in the area of indigenous peoples at the Summit of the Americas in Chile in 1998 and that this progress continued at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in 2001. He specifically mentioned the Indigenous Peoples' Summit of the Americas which was held prior to the Summit in Quebec City. The declaration which came out of the Indigenous Peoples' Summit was circulated to the leaders present at the Summit in Quebec City. Mr. Lortie noted the need to explore the possibility of holding an Indigenous Peoples' Summit of the Americas prior to the next Summit of the Americas in Argentina in 2005. The Government of Canada is raising this issue with the Government of Argentina, with the understanding that as the host of the next Summit of the Americas, the Government of Argentina will make the final decision.

Mr. Guillermo Rishchynski, Vice-President, Americas Branch, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) provided a detailed overview of the Indigenous Peoples Partnership Programme (IPPP) which was announced at the Indigenous Peoples' Summit of the Americas in Ottawa, March 2001. Mr. Rishchynski explained that CIDA has been working bilaterally in indigenous programming for a number of years but that the IPPP is providing the Agency with the opportunity to build linkages directly between Aboriginal groups in Canada and Latin America. He specifically noted that the IPPP will continue to provide assistance to indigenous participants who wish to participate in the February meeting of the Working Group to Prepare the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and that funding will be made available should a Summit of Indigenous Peoples take place prior to the next Summit of the Americas. The IPPP may also provide funding for an indigenous women's conference planned for Peru in March 2004. CIDA has also provided funding in the areas of indigenous peoples and connectivity and are working on the establishment of a partnership arrangement between indigenous groups in the Andean region and the First Nations University in Saskatchewan. The IPPP will explore the possibility of programming in the areas of Aboriginal justice and means to reform the Inter-American Indigenous Institute over the next couple of years.

Wayne Lord, Director of Aboriginal and Circumpolar Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, added that the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank are working more closely with states and indigenous peoples to implement development projects. The Government of Canada has played a key advisory role with the World Bank as they rewrite their policy on indigenous peoples. He noted that the efforts of the OAS and the Summit of the Americas process have raised the importance of indigenous issues in the Americas and has helped to build relations between states and indigenous peoples. Mr. Lord asked that the Aboriginal organizations present meet and develop a position on the role which they can play in the next Indigenous Peoples' Summit of the Americas. He recognized that core funding for involvement of Aboriginal organizations in international matters is something which has been discussed for a number of years and that further discussion on the matter is required.

Marilyn Whitaker, Director of the International Relations Directorate, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, added that her Deputy Minister has visited Chile, Argentina and Mexico in September and November, 2003. While the focus of his visit was to support the efforts of the Government of Canada to exchange best practices and lessons learned with other governments and organizations interested in the area of Aboriginal programming, he encouraged consideration of an Indigenous summit leading to the Summit of the Americas in Argentina. Ms. Whitaker noted that Canada has played a lead role in assisting the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to plan the Global Forum on Indigenous Peoples and the Information Society, slated for Geneva, December 8-11, 2003. The Global Forum will be part of the World Summit on the Information Society and will provide an opportunity for indigenous groups, experts, and government officials to explore the areas in which information technology can assist indigenous globally as well as in the hemisphere. The IPPP assistance for participants from Latin America to attend the recent World Forestry Congress in Quebec Cit was also noted.

The key points raised by Aboriginal representatives present included the following:

• The need to discuss core funding for their organizations so they can participate in programming in the international arena in an ongoing manner.
• An interest to learn more about the state of negotiations around the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
• An interest to participate in the indigenous women's conference planned for Peru in March 2004.
• A recognition that the Indigenous Peoples' Summit of the Americas held in Ottawa in March 2001 was an historic event and the need to hold another Indigenous Peoples' Summit prior to the Summit of the Americas in Argentina in 2005.