NationTalk: On October 8th, 2024 the Honourable Paul Prosper released a report outlining concerns heard during his 2024 Listening Tour of Mi’kma’ki:
From February to September, 2024, Senator Prosper and his team conducted a “listening tour” of the Mi’kmaw territory known as Mi’kma’ki. This territory stretches from Newfoundland to the Gaspé region of Québec. It includes the entirety of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, as well as parts of New Brunswick and Québec. Throughout this time, the Senator and his office met with 1,701 people over 44 meetings and 5 conferences or large events. They spent 184 hours actively engaged with meeting and event participants, learning about their achievements, stories, issues and priorities.
The number seven is of particular significance to the Mi’kmaq or “L’nu”: there are seven teachings (love, respect, courage, honesty, wisdom, humility and truth) that serve as guiding principles for L’nu and other First Nations and there are seven districts within Mi’kma’ki. As such, this report organizes the various priorities raised into seven broad categories. The number of times issues were raised by participants was noted in order to help the Senator discern which priorities were of most concern to those engaged with. Based on this methodology, the categories in order of most to least discussed is:
1. Governance
2. Health and Social Issues
3. Economic Development, Lands and Resources
4. Justice
5. Infrastructure
6. Citizenship
7. Language, Culture and History
This alone seems to tell a story. It is not that language, culture and history is not important to L’nu. In fact, language is a means of connection that many seek to revitalize and preserve. The story that the Senator has seen emerge is that it is vital for L’nu to take control of their own affairs (Governance) in order to ensure that their people are strong and healthy enough to go to school, work and be productive members of society (Health and Social Issues). Once that is done, they can then focus on generating their own source revenues to break the reliance on government funding imposed on Mi’kmaq through a series of colonial, paternalistic and blatantly racist policies and laws (Economic Development, Lands and Resources) and have the resources to tackle other after-effects of intergenerational trauma (Justice) as well as to build and repair culturally-appropriate spaces to work, learn and play in (Infrastructure). In this brighter future, L’nu would have the ability to reconnect with and support one another using their own definition for who belongs to their nation (Citizenship) and finally be able to focus on living as opposed to just surviving (Language, Culture and History).
Every part of Mi’kma’ki faces the same issues, to varying degrees. Some regions have been fortunate to have better access to services and more infrastructure and/or industry, whether that be due to location or the foresight of leadership, while others are more remote and struggle to provide the same opportunities other communities have. Some communities have large councils and corporations that are focused on generating wealth for that community and its members, while others have a Chief and very few councilors – if any – who all wear multiple hats.
While these differences often influenced which topics were raised and how much time was spent discussing each, there were common points that were touched on in every meeting and every event. The overarching theme for all these points was a general lack of accountability in rights recognition by successive governments. Regardless of political stripe, these issues have persisted through the years and continue to this day. Despite the rhetoric espoused by some and the multitude of reports, commissions and parliamentary recommendations, systemic racism and discrimination persist in Canada’s institutions at a provincial and federal level. Many complained of a lack of respect or being offered lip service when trying to address key concerns and every single meeting referenced a lack of recognition of First Nation sovereignty in some capacity. Various people linked this to frustration over, what appears to be, stalled efforts to implement the United Nations Declaration Act (UNDA) Action Plan, which was released on June 21, 2023.
L’nu have also expressed feeling as though they are caught in a jurisdictional battle between the provincial and federal governments where no one seems to want “the headache”. This is exacerbated by a seeming lack of understanding of Mi’kmaq culture and traditions amongst departments, key staff, RCMP officers and politicians alike. There were those who surmised that this lack of understanding is the result of a myriad of factors such as, but not limited to: an unwillingness to understand how tradition and culture relates to the successful delivery of modern services; a high turnover in departmental staff, leading to the inability to form consistent and stable relationships with decision makers; and federal and provincial governments working in silos, resulting in a disjointed and often piecemeal approach to Mi’kmaq issues.
While an ideal solution to this would see Mi’kmaq take control over the creation and delivery of core programs and services such as education, health, justice, child welfare and so forth, a lack of access to funding – especially core funding – coupled with discriminatory funding models block the ability of L’nu organizations and institutions to grow. This ideal assumption of responsibility and exercise of sovereignty is further stymied by the lack of Mi’kmaq capacity, red tape and arduous reporting requirements. In the Gaspé, despite the geographical proximity of communities to their Englishspeaking New Brunswick counterparts, the settler-drawn boundaries impose French language requirements that hinder the ability to staff key positions including nursing roles at the newly-built elders care facility. Despite the patients only speaking English and Mi’kmaq, these language requirements cannot be waived within the province of Québec.
These types of burdens and restrictions are not limited to provincial governments. The federal government is also guilty of creating unnecessary barriers to the health, prosperity and overall well-being of Mi’kmaq communities, as is evident in the meeting summaries contained in this report.
This report provides a summary of the various meetings that Senator Prosper and his team participated in. The priorities and issues contained have guided – and will continue to guide – the work of the Senator in the Chamber and beyond. Evidence of how the Senator’s work has already been influenced by the Mi’kma’ki tour can be found in the Hansard and recordings of his interventions during Statements and Question Period, as well as in various speeches and committee questions.
Click here to read a copy of the Final Report*.
*Please note, this file has been compressed to meet NSMTC.ca upload requirements and all embedded images will appear pixelated. To receive an official and uncompressed copy of the report, please contact The Office of the Honourable Paul Prosper.