Citizens Plus: Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian State

Přední strana obálky
UBC Press, 1. 11. 2011 - Počet stran: 288

We are in the midst of a fundamental re-evaluation of the desired relation of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples to each other, and of how the former are to be institutionally and constitutionally accommodated within Canada. Words matter. How we think about where we are and about the future goal of our relationship can confine us in an intellectual prison or liberate us from choices we will otherwise regret.

In Citizens Plus, Alan Cairns unravels the historical record to clarify the current impasse in negotiations between Aboriginal peoples and the state. He considers the assimilationist policy assumptions of the imperial era, examines more recent government initiatives, and analyzes the emergence of the nation-to-nation paradigm given massive support by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

We are battered by contending visions, he argues - a revised assimilation policy that finds its support in the Canadian Alliance Party is countered by the nation-to-nation vision, which frames our future as coexisting solitudes. Citizens Plus stakes out a middle ground with its support for constitutional and institutional arrangements which will simultaneously recognize Aboriginal difference and reinforce a solidarity which binds us together in common citizenship. Essential reading for those in political science, history, Native studies, public administration, and law, Citizens Plus will also appeal to the general public interested in one of the most important and complex issues on our agenda.

Selected as a BC Book for Everybody

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O autorovi (2011)

Alan C. Cairns is professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia where he was a member of the Department of Political Science from 1960 until his retirement in 1995. He was awarded the 1982 Molson Prize and, in 1998, was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles on federalism, the constitution, and the charter.

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