Implementing Aboriginal Self-Government: Constitutional and Jurisdictional Issues

The purpose of this paper is to make suggestions as to how Aboriginal self-government could be implemented without any amendment of the Constitution of Canada. The authors suggest that elements of the Charlottetown Constitutional Accord could be included in a political accord or accords, which could become the framework for self-government negotiations. The authors discuss the nature of the powers that could be included in a self-government agreement, making extensive reference to the Yukon First Nation Self-Government Agreements. The issues that are examined include personal and territorial jurisdictions, concurrent and exclusive powers, the relationship of Aboriginal laws to federal and provincial (or territorial) laws, the administration of justice and the financing of self-government. The authors recommend that self-government agreements should be constitutionally protected, and they explain how that can be accomplished under the existing Constitution. The applicability of the Charter of Rights is also discussed, and a recommendation is made for the development of Aboriginal constitutions, which could include Aboriginal Charters of Rights

Implementing Aboriginal Self-Government: Constitutional and Jurisdictional Issues

The purpose of this paper is to make suggestions as to how Aboriginal self-government could be implemented without any amendment of the Constitution of Canada. The authors suggest that elements of the Charlottetown Constitutional Accord could be included in a political accord or accords, which could become the framework for self-government negotiations. The authors discuss the nature of the powers that could be included in a self-government agreement, making extensive reference to the Yukon First Nation Self-Government Agreements. The issues that are examined include personal and territorial jurisdictions, concurrent and exclusive powers, the relationship of Aboriginal laws to federal and provincial (or territorial) laws, the administration of justice and the financing of self-government. The authors recommend that self-government agreements should be constitutionally protected, and they explain how that can be accomplished under the existing Constitution. The applicability of the Charter of Rights is also discussed, and a recommendation is made for the development of Aboriginal constitutions, which could include Aboriginal Charters of Rights

Franchises lost and gained: post-coloniality and the development of women’s rights in Canada

The Canadian constitution is to some extent characterised by its focus on equality, and in particular gender equality. This development of women’s rights in Canada and the greater engagement of women as political actors is often presented as a steady linear process, moving forwards from post-enlightenment modernity. This article seeks to disturb this ‘discourse of the continuous,’ by using an analysis of the pre-confederation history of suffrage in Canada to both refute a simplistic linear view of women’s rights development and to argue for recognition of the Indigenous contribution to the history of women’s rights in Canada. The gain of franchise and suffrage movements in Canada in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century are, rightly, the focus of considerable study (Pauker 2015), This article takes an alternative perspective. Instead, it examines the exercise of earlier franchises in pre-confederation Canada. In particular it analyses why franchise was exercised more widely in Lower Canada and relates this to the context of the removal of franchises from women prior to confederation