What is the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, and what did it conclude?
The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was struck in 1991, as part of a deal to end the armed conflict between Mohawks and the Canadian army at Oka, Quebec. It was the longest, most expensive public commission in Canadian history. The Commission’s mandate was formed around one question: What are the foundations of a fair and honourable relationship between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples of Canada? In 1996, after five years of study, the Commission released its six- volume, 4,300 page report, with 440 recommendations. The report concludes that the federal government’s official policy of assimilation has failed and cannot continue, and that under the current structure a just settlement of Aboriginal land and treaty rights is impossible. The Commission calls for a new political and social relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the rest of Canada that is grounded in four ethical principles: nation-to-nation recognition of governments, culture, jurisdiction and commitmen
