Sparked by anger that aboriginals were ignored in the discussion over the recognition of
It calls on the Liberal party, in partnership with
It specifies that a future Liberal government should bring forward the recognition "at a future Constitutional Conference" and have it entrenched "in a First Amendment to the Constitution of Canada."
However, the resolution will not make it to the convention floor during today's policy plenary because it was received too late, according to the convention rules.
Hank Rowlinson, co-president of the Aboriginal Peoples' Commission, said he had hoped the issue could be debated by all delegates to the Liberal leadership and policy convention, which opened yesterday.
"Obviously we will work to try to make sure it is in the leader's platform in the next election," Mr. Rowlinson said. "It seems that in the debate about
Michael Ignatieff, the front-running leadership candidate heading into the weekend vote, has called for a new "constitutional division of powers among aboriginal, territorial, provincial and federal orders of government."
He is also calling for the acknowledgement in the Constitution of "the national status of
But when he addressed commission members yesterday, Mr. Ignatieff made no reference to his proposal for constitutional change. His advocacy of national status for
"The candidates are being a little more cautious about introducing a nation debate or opening up the Constitution," said Bob Goulais, an aboriginal delegate from
Mr. Rowlinson did not take offence that Mr. Ignatieff ignored the constitutional angle during his brief speech to aboriginal delegates. "In Mr. Ignatieff's aboriginal policy platform, he clearly states that if he becomes leader and becomes prime minister, his platform is to recognize First Nations and Metis as nations within the federation of
"He feels, and a lot of people feel, that recognizing us within the nation of
The Liberals side-stepped debate over the
The Liberals behind the resolution said they were withdrawing it because the issue had been settled in a motion passed on Monday in the House of Commons recognizing that "the Quebecois" form a nation within
The Liberals pride themselves on being the only major federal party with an aboriginal commission, which was created in 1990. It alone among the three Liberal commissions meeting yesterday was addressed by the leadership candidates, and former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin gave the meeting's keynote address.
The party describes the commission as playing an important role in setting policy. "It is within this party that aboriginal peoples finally have an opportunity to have our voices heard and make a contribution," the commission says on its Web site.
The leadership candidates attacked the Conservative government for abandoning the $5-billion
Bob Rae called the situation of
Stephane Dion called for federal policy "to help communities, when they are ready, when they have the governance capacity, to have a way to move out of the Indian Act, which is so paternalistic."
Gerard Kennedy talked about playing hockey with aboriginal friends when he was growing up in
Mr. Ignatieff criticized the Conservatives as out of touch for describing aboriginal fisheries as race-based. "It's not a race-based quota, it's a rights-based quota," he said. "That tells you what you need to know about these guys. They really do not understand the constitutive, historical, rights-based presence of aboriginal, Inuit and Metis people in our country."