As a settler society, Canada’s history has been one of dispossessing Indigenous peoples of their land, sovereignty and rights.

Though the Royal Proclamation of 1763 recognized Indigenous peoples as the original occupants of the land and, as such, bearers of special rights including collective rights such as the right to self-determination or sovereignty and rights to traditional land, to this day, the Canadian state continues its termination policy towards all three in order to support its extraction-based economy. The result is genocide.

The ongoing dismissal of land rights, the kidnapping of Indigenous children from their communities, the over-incarceration of Indigenous people in the justice system and the tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls are only the most visible features of this genocide.

The Green Party of Canada under Dimitri’s leadership is committed the most affirmative possible approach in working with Indigenous peoples to effect a root and branch overhaul of the relations between the Canadian state and Indigenous people, above all by insisting on Indigenous land, sovereignty and rights and rejecting the racist doctrines of discovery and terra nullius.

Our approach is committed to working with Indigenous peoples, their grass roots and elected leaders and their Indigenous knowledge, strengths and ways in nation-to-nation relations. It is committed to restoring Indigenous sovereignty, land and rights and ending the genocide as national priorities.

Our commitments include:

• Restoring Indigenous peoples’ Title over, access to and control over their traditional territories must be the ultimate goal of any just policy;
• Revaluing and disseminating Indigenous knowledges and ways among all Canadians;
• Creating a fourth Indigenous level of government;
• Bringing Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution into compliance with Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights/International Covenant on Educational, Social & Cultural Rights and Article 3 of UNDRIP and rescinding all of the inconsistent colonial laws to implement the Indigenous people’s right to freely determine their own political status and freely pursue their own economic, social and cultural development; and
• Implementing all the recommendations of the Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

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