Keeping Our Word : A Principled Canada-First Peoples' Constitutional Framework

A compelling solution to heal the rift between Canada and First Peoples Communities.

Canada prides itself on being a nation to whom a troubled, conflicted world can look for inspiration. Tolerance, diversity, equality, honesty, and compassion … all are virtues Canada claims are parts of its cultural DNA. Yet Canada’s relationships with its First Peoples (First Nations, Inuit, and Metis) are badly fractured, with distrust and profound disharmony their defining features. Whether Canada acts to honour the promises exchanged in the 1764 Treaty of Niagara, promises that have been violated, ignored, or forgotten for 250 years, will define us forever.

Keeping Our Word offers a clear way forward. Canada could never have existed without its formative First Peoples’ partnerships. Our word must be kept, and our bargains honoured, or Canada will be exposed as a failed experiment built on a broken promise.