In this paper, the administrative aspects of Aboriginal issues are discussed. Constitutionally, the federal government is responsible for the status Indians and Inuits because of the British North America Act of 1867. Section 91 (24), and one particular department, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) has this responsibility. However, on careful examination, this perception is not entirely correct. Administrative interaction is extremely complicated, and any single generalization may not illustrate the entire picture.
First, when we study the relationship between governments and the aboriginal peoples, we can point out at least seven types of government administration. For example, the status Indians could benefit from government programs such as free education and medical care as long as they reside on Indian reserves. And a band government, which is recognized by DIAND as a legitimate political unit on a reserve, is responsible for policy initiation and implementation. In this case, we can find a bilateral relationship between Ottawa and the band government, and the BNA Act recognizes this interaction constitutionally. However, due to federalism (division of powers between federal and provincial governments) there are different types of exceptions to aboriginal administration in Canada.
Second, at least three policy trends in recent aboriginal policy can be identified: functional decentralization, federal-provincial coordination and native participation. In the past decades, only DIAND was responsible for the status Indians and Inuits. But since the early 1970's, several federal departments and agencies began to provide their services to native Canadians. Approximately, one-third of the budget for the native program is implemented by non-DIAND departments. The federal-provincial coordination covers many areas of service such as policing, education and health care. The Native Canadians also began to assert their views and demands when the native programs were implemented. As these trends indicate, the administration of native policy in Canada cannot be carried out without referring to the transformation of Canadian federalism.
Third, several provincial governments began to establish native branches such as SAGMAI in Quebec.
How do we evaluate the Canadian situation theoretically? Here, it is possible to identify two approaches to aboriginal (or ethnic) administration: liberal integration and pluralism (or special status). The liberl integration approach indicates the eliminations of a special status — no ethnic group would be given special programs or rights by a government, and equality of all citizens as well as all ethnic groups is assumed. While the second approach may not abandon liberal-integrationism completely, a group could possess a special status or right as a result of historical and geographical reasons. In Canada, many Native peoples support a theory of “citizens plus, ” which recognizes the Aboriginal Canadians' unique historical status in North America.
While this paper deals with only the Canadian situation, it seems relevant to examine administrative/policy aspects of ethnic/minority problems comparatively.
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