Yesterday was the 94th Anniversary of the Statute of Westminster.
The Statute was a ground breaking law that gave Canada legal independence for the first time from the British Crown.
For the first time, instead of decisions being made for Canada in England, the King had to now defer to the Prime Minister. Instead of one King and one Crown, there were now many Crowns and one King; the British King, and separately, the King of Canada.
As a result, today, the King of Canada can only take advice from Canada’s Prime Minister.
For Treaty relations, this means that Canada became an intermediary in Crown Indigenous relations. No longer was there a direct line of communication for First Nations to the Crown, as part of their original Treaty agreements.
This is important to reconciliation in Canada.
When we think of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, and the Treaty of Niagara (the Silver Covenant Chain) of 1764, as the Magna Cartas of our country, Canadians now know that the growth of our country has come at the cost of Aboriginal and Treaty Rights. The growth and independence Canada was given through the Statute of Westminster plays an important part in this story.
Canada is founded on Treaty relationships. Treaties tell the story of our country; starting on the east coast, as the first point of contact, and weaving their way along the Great Lakes basin during the American War of Independence, into the Prairies, and across the Rocky Mountains, eventually to the Fraser River Valley and then the rest of the West coast.
We built our Nation on Crown Indigenous relations – promises to work together, and we are continuing to do so.
Today, the courts are redefining the Crown Indigenous relationship. In Bob Joseph’s latest book 21 Things You Need to Know About Indigenous Self Government, he states that it is time for us to take reconciliation out of the courts.
As Canadians, we can do this. Let’s take this anniversary as a reminder and an opportunity to think about how.
References:
https://www.tidridge.com/uploads/3/8/4/1/3841927/the_statute_of_westminster_pp_1931_updated_2023.pdf
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/statute-of-westminster
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/responsible-government