Trudeau's government committed to reconciliation but didn't quite live up to promises, say experts

Stephanie Cram · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 06, 2025 6:30 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

With the Liberal Party of Canada poised to take its caller person this weekend, immoderate say the enactment nether Trudeau gave much attraction to Indigenous issues than erstwhile governments. 

"I don't deliberation that determination has been a premier curate that has committed much to Indigenous communities … since Confederation," said Hayden King, an subordinate prof astatine Toronto Metropolitan University, and a subordinate of Beausoleil First Nation successful Ontario. 

A fewer months aft becoming premier curate successful 2015, Trudeau spoke astatine a gathering of the Assembly of First Nations.

"I cognize that renewing our narration is an ambitious goal, but I americium arsenic definite that it is 1 we can, and will, execute if we enactment together," Trudeau told the Assembly of First Nations successful December 2015. 

"In the mandate letters fixed to authorities ministers, my expectations were clear. I told them that nary narration is much important to maine and to Canada than the 1 with First Nations, the Métis Nation, and Inuit." 

Trudeau made big promises, including implementing the UN Declaration connected the Rights of Indigenous People, implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action, and launching an enquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. 

The enactment besides promised sweeping fixes to justice, wellness care, and kid payment betterment for Indigenous people. 

But King says, arsenic the years went on, galore of those commitments seemed to lose popularity successful the party. 

"It was a agelong database of aspirations," King said. 

"I deliberation arsenic the years went on, those commitments dropped away."

Reconciliation a 2015 predetermination issue

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its 94 calls to enactment successful June 2015, a fewer months up of the national predetermination that saw Trudeau's Liberal Party triumph a bulk government.

Both the national Liberal and NDP parties commited to afloat implementing the calls to action. The Conservative Party wouldn't commit, but said they would reappraisal the last report.

Ian Mosby, an adjunct prof astatine Toronto Metropolitan University, tracked progress connected implementing the calls to action. 

"I was astatine the last TRC lawsuit successful Ottawa … truthful I heard Trudeau and others talk rather eloquently astir the value of this," helium said.  

"I genuinely believed them."

The biggest jump, helium says, was successful 2021 aft the find of imaginable unmarked graves astatine the Kamloops Indian Residential School. 

But past year Mosby stopped monitoring progress connected the calls to action, due to the fact that advancement had beauteous overmuch stopped. 

He said some calls to action, similar changing the oath of citizenship to admit Indigenous peoples and launching the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, were easier to implement because they didn't cost much. 

"But I deliberation increasingly, they recovered that it was excessively costly to walk wealth connected Indigenous peoples," Mosby said.

'You're doing this for Indigenous children' 

Katherine Koostachin from Attawapiskat First Nation successful Ontario served arsenic a elder advisor of Indigenous argumentation and litigation successful the Prime Minister's Office and said the argumentation she worked connected that she is astir arrogant of is was the child payment betterment colony offer. 

"For maine it was unimaginable that Canada really offered $40 cardinal plus," said Koostachin.

"I can't judge we did it successful presumption of making that connection … due to the fact that immoderate erstwhile authorities astir apt wouldn't person done that." 

That connection was rejected by chiefs astatine a peculiar gathering of the Assembly of First Nations past year, but Koostachin said she hopes Canada remains committed to uncovering due presumption of settlement. 

Before leaving the Prime Minister's Office, Koostachin said she met with Trudeau and shared with him wherefore she does the enactment she does. 

"I ever saw it arsenic my work for my radical due to the fact that I was doing it for the kids, truthful that was my connection for him, it's similar you're doing this for Indigenous children," said Koostachin. 

With an predetermination connected the horizon, determination is worry is that Indigenous issues — and reconciliation — are not campaign priorities. 

"If you're going to entree captious minerals, energy, you're going to person to spell done Indigenous radical and their onshore and resources, truthful yet [reconciliation] should beryllium portion of the operator of immoderate governmental mandate," said Koostachin.