munities. Prime Minister Trudeau and a num-
ber of his cabinet ministers have shown a very
good understanding of the kinds of changes
that need to occur. And, as I mentioned, the
full implementation of the U.N. Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is an excel-
lent starting point. The Report of the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission also highlight-
ed that the Declaration provides an excellent
framework for reconciliation.
What we have demonstrated in our corner of
northern Quebec is that it is possible to rec-
ognize and give practical expression to Indige-
nous rights without the sky falling and without
governments “giving away the farm”. What we
have shown, in fact, is that such an approach
is, in the end, in everyone’s best interests.
To Indigenous communities I would say that
this is the time to be alert to opportunities and
to seize them when they appear. On the In-
digenous side, I think we also sometimes need
to let go of fears. We have become used to
resisting, used to calling out the hidden agen-
das, used to mistrust, and used to government
initiatives that come from a colonial agenda.
There may be a time soon when we need to
look beyond those blinders and see the possi-
bilities in opportunities. We need to be ready
to say ‘yes’. But by saying ‘yes’, it doesn’t
mean that we shut off our brains or that we
stop looking at proposals with a critical eye. It
means, on the Indigenous side, that we have
to be ready to go beyond our own rhetoric and
be ready to create something new when the
opportunities present themselves.
JULY 2018 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA 35
