Say what you will about Jason Kenney and his ideas, he made progress on persuading First Nations communities to buy into his vision of Alberta’s future.
Danielle Smith blew it all to smithereens in 64 days.
That’s the length of time between the day Ms. Smith was sworn in as Kenney’s replacement to the day the chiefs of the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations declared it was clear from their discussions with Alberta’s new premier about her Sovereignty Act that she “does not understand our Treaty or our inherent rights nor does she respect them.”
While most of the rest of Alberta includes the territory of Treaty 7 and Treaty 8 First Nations, it is highly unlikely at this point that their view of their relationship with the premier and her party is any different. All have condemned the so-called Sovereignty within a United Canada Act.
Winning over communities that did not traditionally support Conservative political parties was long recognized as one of the former Alberta premier’s talents.
As a Conservative MP in Ottawa and one of prime minister Stephen Harper’s key lieutenants, Kenney was given the job of winning the hearts of Canada’s most recent immigrant communities.
As the National Post, the Pravda of Canada’s Conservative movement, put it in 2011: “Politically, he has succeeded in out-Liberaling the Liberals, charming ethnic communities by attending thousands of banquets across the country.
“The massive effort paid off as the Tories broke through in a number of heavily multicultural urban ridings in the 2011 election, especially in Greater Toronto,” the Post’s writer continued.
Even a harsh critic of Kenney’s career must concede that this is largely true.
After he entered Alberta politics in 2016 and soon succeeded with his plan to unite the Wildrose Party and the Progressive Conservatives and defeat the governing NDP, Kenney turned that charm on Alberta’s First Nations.
He clearly understood that he could not succeed with his dream of Alberta at the centre of a spiderweb of pipelines moving ever outward without significant buy-in from the First Nations whose territory, recognized in treaties with the Crown in the 19th and 20th centuries, encompasses all of the province.
In Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin MLA Rick Wilson, premier Kenney chose an Indigenous relations minister who was an empathetic and sincere listener.
“We’ve really been active in trying to promote working with Indigenous people, making sure that we do become those partners in prosperity that we talk about,” Mr. Wilson told a reporter.
Then Smith with her Sovereignty-Association talk won the leadership of the UCP in October, after Kenney had effectively been pushed out by the radical Take Back Alberta PAC.
She soon bigfooted her way into the former premier’s efforts to cultivate a relationship with First Nations with a string of patronizing commentary, a much-doubted claim to have Indigenous ancestry, and statements about tearing up constitutional ways of doing business with Ottawa that obviously caused deep disquiet among First Nations leaders.
“By using the word ‘sovereignty’ in the name of this proposed Act, Premier Smith should not pretend to have authority over sovereign First Nations,” the chiefs of the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations said in a news release back on November 23.
“Treaty is the highest law to govern the land now known as Canada, its resources, and our Peoples,” that news release continued. “We understand the proposed Act as a ploy to access resources and extract them at an unrestricted rate, leaving the land unprotected.”
But the chiefs’ pleas to reconsider the act barely received a response, let alone meaningful consultation.
Indeed, while Smith kept Wilson on as minister, an unnamed official in his department revealed to media that Indigenous Relations was cut out of the process completely from the get-go.
The breach created by Smith culminated with the chiefs’ statement Wednesday that “We do not agree that an invitation on the day of the Throne Speech is an inclusive approach to hearing Albertans and Indigenous voices in a meaningful way for such a dangerous piece of legislation.”
As veteran Alberta political reporter Graham Thomson argued in a thoughtful column in the Toronto Star Thursday, in Alberta’s First Nations Smith “has finally met a political foe she cannot ignore, ridicule and demonize.”
This is true. Although we mustn’t count on her government not to try all three if she can’t persuade First Nations leaders to change their minds upon hearing a few glib promises.
This breach is sure to have been made deeper by the fact Bill 1, the Sovereignty Act, passed by the Legislature on December 7, was given Royal Assent on Thursday. So, for the moment, it is the law of the land – at least until the courts get to take a run at it.
Chances are good Alberta’s First Nations will play a significant role in giving the courts that opportunity.
Meanwhile, in Saskatchewan, where a conservative government that often takes its lead from Alberta has also introduced an unconstitutional bill similar in concept to the Alberta Sovereignty Act, First Nations chiefs warned that if the legislation is not scrapped, there will be a sharp response in 2023.
“If all else fails, we will blockade,” said Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron.
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