The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has been adopted by the Canadian government, and First Nations people are waiting to see some progress.

I don’t think we should hold our breath.

The indication is that the government adopted the declaration under duress and hopes it will just go away. It most likely will fall into the black hole, like all the other studies and expressions of goodwill in the past.

The announcement came on Nov. 12, when everyone was either taking a holiday or getting ready for the weekend. In Ottawa, Friday afternoon is the time to make unpopular or troublesome announcements. For instance, this is when the prime minister customarily announces Senate appointments.

There was no ceremony, not even a press conference to announce the adoption of the declaration, only a press release delivered by e-mail.

I can imagine Indian Affairs Minister John Duncan signing a bunch of correspondence and, oh, by the way, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is part of the pile.

The Harper government had rejected the document and lobbied other countries against signing it. One by one the dissenters signed on, including Australia and New Zealand.

The United States said it would review its position and, in the end, the U.S. and Canada were the lone holdouts. With Canada starting to look like a bumpkin on the international stage, the government held its nose and signed the declaration.

This became apparent in its announcement. The press release is full of self-serving praise about the Harper government’s record with aboriginal peoples. But placed inside the press release are weasel words that condemn this document. It states: “The Declaration is an aspirational document which speaks to the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples.”

Aspirational is defined as a “cherished desire.” In other words, the government considers the Declaration as a “wish list,” and it’s not about to become reality anytime soon.

Also, the government doesn’t consider it a legal obligation. The press release states, “While the Declaration is not legally binding, endorsing it as an important aspirational [there’s that word again] document is a significant step forward in strengthening relations with Aboriginal peoples.”

Whether the declaration is legally binding isn’t the issue. The fact that it is morally and ethically binding is more to the point. So the Canadian government supports the wish list, but it will have no legal affect in Canada.

Governing should be based on what is needed, and not what the politicians can get away with.

Aboriginal leaders were effusive in their praise, as they thanked the government for its positive action, stating that they looked forward to working together to implement the Declaration. This was all part of the diplomatic offensive to get some action.

The government, however, considers it as putting this little bit of nastiness behind it, and has given no indication that it will live up to the document. All the goodwill and praise from aboriginal leaders are falling on deaf ears.

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 20 years in the making, was adopted by the UN General Assembly on Sept. 13, 2007. Scores of lawyers, aboriginal leaders and government officials laboured over it.

A working group began drafting the Declaration in 1985. It was an arduous process, and more than 100 indigenous organizations participated in the working group. The first draft was completed in 1993 and was passed on to the UN Commission on Human Rights.

The declaration contains 46 articles that recognize our right to self-determination, the practise of our language and culture, and the control of our institutions, to name a few.

These rights and others are ours and should be free from discrimination in their application.

This is a serious document and its passage means a lot to First Nations people. The problem in Canada is that it came three years after the fact, and got a lukewarm endorsement from the government.

The question remains, what does this mean for Canada? Will this important declaration be placed on the shelf beside the final report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Kelowna Accord, and all the other studies and good intentions that are part of our history?

Canadian governments have a long history of saying one thing and doing another. The treaties are the first example of that.

We need some action to follow up on the adoption of the UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Otherwise it will be one more paving stone in our particular road to hell.

Doug Cuthand is a columnist with The Saskatoon StarPhoenix, which first printed this article.

Cathryn Atkinson

Cathryn Atkinson is the former News and Features Editor for rabble.ca. Her career spans more than 25 years in Canada and Britain, where she lived from 1988 to 2003. Cathryn has won five awards...