[nvy]

>But on more practical grounds, this is creating a great big loophole for the traditional resource extraction companies to circumvent environment regulation by partnering with first nations on projects.

There's a certain demographic that can't accept that indigenous people might not be nature-worshipping druids that never pollute and are infallible stewards of the land, so through that lens of course they don't need to be subject to environmental regulations.

[elevaet]

That may be true, but fundamentally this is about autonomy. These Nations do not necessarily fall under the jurisdiction of the National or Provincial government since they never ceeded their territory.

It's a bit of a grey area for sure, but this isn't about "giving the people of the forest" stewardship of the land in order for them to protect it, it's recognizing that they didn't sign up to be governed under the nation/province.

[extr]

The idea that they do not fall under jusrisdiction is a farce and legal contrivance. In reality they have no international standing and do not and would not constitute an independent state under any normal criteria. What's happening here is the government is treating them with kid gloves because there is the perception what happened in the past is unfair (true!) and there is a desire to make amends for it. That's all well and good, let's just acknowledge it and call it what it is. If tomorrow they decided to start developing nuclear weapons I don't think "they didn't consent to be governed" would fly.

[lukan]

"If tomorrow they decided to start developing nuclear weapons I don't think "they didn't consent to be governed" would fly."

Any nation developing nuclear weapons will get serious problems from the nations who already have them. Native, or not.

And it used to not be necessary, to have "international standing" to have your own state. You just minded your own buisness and tried to get along with the local neighbors. As far as I understand, this is a compromise, to bring some of it back. They are still subject to most of federal law and that is not going to change. So there won't be a true souvereign native state inside of canada anytime soon.

[astrange]

> Any nation developing nuclear weapons will get serious problems from the nations who already have them.

That's not universally true as long as they don't acknowledge it. Israel has nuclear weapons and nobody is (effectively) trying to stop them.

[philistine]

Looking at realpolitik, I can see one path: Quebec independence. If it’s achieved within our lifetime, a sovereign Quebec might offer full independence to First Nations to get them to sign a dotted line to stop trying to be inside Canada.

[TSiege]

It doesn't matter if they don't have international standing, what matters is that Canada has recognized them as sovereign entities. You can't be sovereign but then be boxed into the laws of another country

[ricardobeat]

Exactly why they wouldn’t be sovereign nations except by Canada’s niceness. You can only be sovereign by having some form of strong leverage, either resources, power, or international support.

[TSiege]

Except for the legal treaties Canada signed with them? This isn't Canada being like gee I guess it'd be woke of us to say you're a separate legal entity. This is based on treaties they've signed and being legally obligated to recognize the rights of a people

[ricardobeat]

Legal treaties, or any kind of contract really, are only worth their paper as long as there is an underlying system with power to enforce them. I believe these nations have no standing in international courts; they have no armies, allies or resources. Upholding these treaties is entirely dependent on goodwill.

If Canada was to ignore them and take over all land, who would stop them? It is, in the end, Canada being nice. Is that such a terrible thing?

[ZanyProgrammer]

Canada is already a federal state with sub national entities that don’t have all the rights of the federal government. Pretty much any state that has a federal system already deals with this.,