La Loi sur la gouvernance des premières nations : (dé)colonisation du droit fédéral canadien en matière autochtone ?

Les relations entre l'État canadien et les Autochtones sont, depuis 1876, principalement régies par la Loi sur les Indiens. Le 9 octobre 2001, le ministre des affaires indiennes et du Nord canadien présente à la Chambre des communes la Loi sur la gouvernance des Premières nations (LGPN), projet de loi qui, d'affirmer le ministre, constitue une politique charnière en droit fédéral canadien. En effet, la LGPN a pour objet de compléter et de modifier la Loi sur les Indiens afin de préparer, selon les dires du ministre, les communautés autochtones à leur éventuelle émancipation politique. Le discours du gouvernement canadien suggère que la LGPN ouvre la voie à la décolonisation du droit fédéral autochtone puisqu'elle rompt avec l'approche coloniale inhérente à la Loi sur les Indiens. Une grande majorité d'Autochtones s'oppose toutefois à l'adoption de ce projet de loi, l'interprétant comme une reconduction de la politique colonialiste fédérale. L'objectif du présent mémoire est de déterminer si la LGPN annonce véritablement la fin des rapports coloniaux entre le gouvernement canadien et les Autochtones ou si, au contraire, elle n'est que l'expression moderne d'une mesure législative colonialiste. Notre analyse se fonde sur une grille d'identification du colonialisme que nous aurons préalablement établie. Après avoir démontré que la Loi sur les Indiens constitue un exemple paradigmatique de colonialisme, nous tenterons de déterminer si la LGPN se distingue véritablement de la Loi sur les Indiens. Nous conclurons que, bien que comportant certaines mesures positives, la LGPN témoigne de 1'hésitation du gouvernement canadien à changer la nature des relations qu'il entretient avec les Autochtones.

Since 1876, relations between Aboriginals and the federal Crown have always been defined by the Indian Act. On October 2001, the First Nations Governance Act (FNGA) was introduced in the House of Commons by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northem Development. According to the Minister, the bill is pivotaI in seeking to amend and complement the Indian Act in order to prepare Aboriginals for their future political emancipation. The purported purpose of this new policy is to operate a fundamental shift away from the colonial approach ofthe Indian Act. However, the majority of Aboriginals are opposed to the enactment of the bill since, in their view, it only entrenches the colonial approach embraced by the federal govemment's policies. The purpose of this thesis is to determine whether the FNGA will in fact shift away from the colonial approach of the govemment toward Aboriginals or if, on the contrary, is about modemizing colonialism. Our analysis begins with a definition of a framework using indicators to identify colonialism which we will have previously drawn up. Using this framework, we will first demonstrate the colonialist nature of the Indian Act, to then determine whether the FNGA in fact distinguishes itself from the Indian Act. While the FNGA contains sorne steps in a direction of shift away from the colonial approach, it largely reveals that the Canadian govemment still hesitates to change the nature of its relationship with Aboriginals.

Since 1876, relations between Aboriginals and the federal Crown have always been defined by the Indian Act. On October 2001, the First Nations Governance Act (FNGA) was introduced in the House of Commons by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northem Development. According to the Minister, the bill is pivotaI in seeking to amend and complement the Indian Act in order to prepare Aboriginals for their future political emancipation. The purported purpose of this new policy is to operate a fundamental shift away from the colonial approach ofthe Indian Act. However, the majority of Aboriginals are opposed to the enactment of the bill since, in their view, it only entrenches the colonial approach embraced by the federal govemment's policies. The purpose of this thesis is to determine whether the FNGA will in fact shift away from the colonial approach of the govemment toward Aboriginals or if, on the contrary, is about modemizing colonialism. Our analysis begins with a definition of a framework using indicators to identify colonialism which we will have previously drawn up. Using this framework, we will first demonstrate the colonialist nature of the Indian Act, to then determine whether the FNGA in fact distinguishes itself from the Indian Act. While the FNGA contains sorne steps in a direction of shift away from the colonial approach, it largely reveals that the Canadian govemment still hesitates to change the nature of its relationship with Aboriginals.