The Yellowhead Brief

Social Policy

Stan Willams Image, One tree bowing

How Canada’s proposed Indigenous Languages Act fails to deliver

Bill C-91 is headed for third reading in Parliament, with time to still amend and improve it. This brief provides a critical analysis of the Bill, highlighting issues that need to be addressed including its problematic funding model and how it outlines general objectives without any corresponding positive obligations on the Government.

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Stan Williams Image: Playing in the streets in winter

Education and Crown Paternalism: Reviewing the New On-reserve Education Funding Model

Leslee White-Eye provides a critical analysis of the ‘new’ approach to funding First Nations schooling on-reserve, the Interim Funding Approach (IFA). The brief explicates why this approach remains rooted in colonial ‘Indian’ federal education policies and offers the requirements for a strong First Nation led model of education.

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Stan Williams Image: Playing in the streets in winter

The Promise and Failure of First Nation Policing in Ontario

While the original intent of the Anishnaabek Police Services (APS) was to deliver peacekeeping in a more traditional sense to our communities, lack of recognition and support has resulted in a system that produces First Nation OPP officers who aren’t trained in the specificities of policing / peacekeeping in a First Nation context and a service that is disconnected from First Nation aspirations for self-governance.

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Stan Williams Image 29 Scenery

Happy Cannabis Day? First Nations, Legalization & the Ongoing Failure of Canadian Federalism

Today marks Canada’s newest national holiday, Cannabis day. This brief outlines four critical issues that must be addressed so that First Nation communities can reap the potential economic opportunities while balancing the health and safety of their members and also upholding their culture and values.

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