UNDRIP – what is it?
UNDRIP stands for United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It was adopted by the UN’s General Assembly on September 13, 2007. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (“TRC”) named this declaration in 16 of the Calls to Action in its 2015 report. Call to Action #43 states “We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the framework for reconciliation.”
What has the City done with UNDRIP?
The City of Saskatoon’s Response to the TRC Calls to Action in 2015 listed many actions, including #43. The City’s response to Call to Action #43 listed related city initiatives and options for future initiatives. It also indicated that the estimated cost falls within the existing budget. Each year since, an update has been provided on the progress made by the City to each Call to Action (March 2016, December 2016, December 2017, December 2018, January 2020). Except this last time. In April 2021, the update only reported HIGHLIGHTS of the City’s response. No progress from last year, no initiatives for next year. However, Next Steps did indicate that Administration is currently working on an analysis of the recommendations made in the Office of the Treaty Commissioner Reconciliation Action & Measurement Pilot Project and a report will be brought back to City Council.
In the Culture Plan Implementation Refresh document from 2018, the very first action item, 1.1.1, reads “Follow the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in all actions.”
In September 2019, Mayor Clark and the Saskatoon Tribal Council entered into a protocol agreement titled “Sharing Prosperity Though Reconciliation”. It provided a formal agreement in which the parties can plan a common path forward to improve the quality of life for First Nations’ citizens. The background within this agreement includes “And Whereas the Parties support the Principles set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (“UNDRIP”), as well as the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (“TRC”), consistent with the Canadian Constitution and Saskatchewan law.”
It sure seems like the City is on a journey toward truth, reconciliation and Treaty implementation. What does the Office of the Treaty Commissioner think?
At the June 7th Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services meeting, a report from the Office of the Treaty Commissioner on the City’s progress in achieving reconciliation outcomes was on the agenda, as well as the City’s preliminary analysis of their recommendations. The report pointed to important limitations to the City’s reconciliation work, including questioning the authenticity of changes and activities to date. Instead of allowing the speaker to present the report and discuss the results, Mayor Clark deferred the matter to December so that the report could be further reviewed.
Most recently, at the Governance and Priorities committee meeting on June 21st, Mayor Clark gave a lengthy notice of motion that concluded with “Therefore I move that City Administration report back to GPC on the process and implications for adopting and implementing UNDRIP for the City of Saskatoon.”