Keywords
reconciliation, policy analysis, political will
Abstract
Although there has been an increased focus on the importance of the Canada federal government’s use of policy to achieve reconciliation, studies show that they failed to produce meaningful change for the Indigenous population. This exploratory paper aims to analyze the Canadian governments use of policy and its framework to evaluate its efficacy and uncover what factors have potentially caused past policies to fail. A detailed examination on past and current statistics on key indicators for the Indigenous population is used to define the problem. A detailed policy analysis is then utilized to evaluate the efficacy of the policy, identify potential flaws within the framework, and provide potential solutions. The results from the policy analysis argue that the main variables that currently function as an obstacle to achieving reconciliation are a lack of political will, the absence of Indigenous methodologies, and a lack of transparency. It is suggested that to improve the outcomes of these policies and achieve reconciliation; the Canadian government must prioritize the Indigenous population and work to integrate their methodologies within the Western Framework and develop transparent plans.
Primary Advisor
Dr. Rebecca Major
Program Reader
Dr. Lydia Miljan
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Political Science
Document Type
Major Research Paper
Convocation Year
2023