Call to Action # 47

Why “Not Started”

April 14, 2023: The Vatican responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery.” 

Unfortunately, the same is not true for any level of government in Canada. In 2020 alone, the federal government along with 9 provinces – BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador – have all initiated actions against the acknowledgement and acceptance of Aboriginal Rights and Title including the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius i.e. Aboriginal Rights and Title and Indigenous laws and traditions are secondary to provincial ownership and control of resource extraction. (See Perspectives: IW Status Updates Nov. 9, 2020 Part 1-Current Problems and Issues)

Not a lot of progress on this C2A within any jurisdiction although the federal government has repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius through Minister of Crown Relations and Northern Affairs, Carolyn Bennett at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in May, 2017. No formal, legislative repudiation, however, or details on how governments(s) will reform those laws, government policies, and litigation strategies that continue to rely on such concepts.

July 27, 2022: Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops asks Vatican to issue statement on the Doctrine of Discovery that they (CCAB) repudiated on March 19, 2016 when they issued “The “Doctrine of Discovery and Terra Nullius: A Catholic Response“. The problem is that the CCAB is not the Vatican and their renunciation has no weight to influence the government’s continued reliance on both concepts to justify Canadian legal jurisdiction over Indigenous lands.  Even the Supreme Court has declared that Aboriginal title existed before Canada existed. A renunciation of both concepts from the Vatican would bring considerably more weight to bear on governments all over the world who have displaced Indigenous people from their lands.