Manitoba government lacks strategy for reconciliation efforts: auditor general

Manitoba’s auditor standard states the provincial governing administration has not lived up to its commitments to advance reconciliation with Indigenous folks.

In a report released Thursday, Tyson Shtykalo explained the province has not created a approach for reconciliation endeavours, irrespective of being demanded to do so underneath the Route to Reconciliation Act, which was handed in the Manitoba Legislature in 2016. 

“Devoid of a tactic, initiatives to reconciliation are hampered, in the end lacking focus and vision,” Shtykalo wrote.  

An audit of 5 departments inside of the provincial governing administration discovered that only a person minister — the minister for Indigenous reconciliation and northern relations — had any major mention of advancing reconciliation in modern mandate letters, the report explained. 

Those people mandate letters include things like targets for what the ministers are envisioned to accomplish.

Although provincial team told the audit crew they are inspired to contemplate the calls to action from the Reality and Reconciliation Commission when building and employing guidelines and courses, there appeared to be no co-ordination among departments, the auditor’s report says.

It also notes that some actions have been taken in the spirit of reconciliation, these as implementing the use of the eagle feather in Manitoba courtrooms.

But Niigaan Sinclair, a University of Manitoba professor of Native Studies, says these actions aren’t plenty of. 

“There are some pretty compact ornamental alterations that have been done … but there definitely is no mandate and there seriously is no directive from the govt, no management in the places of reconciliation,” he explained.

“Ultimately, that’s not what the Route to Reconciliation Act is supposed to do. It’s seeking for a substantive change, various in the approaches in which the govt does business, and most importantly, such as indigenous peoples at the decision making table,” he claimed. 

Five suggestions

Shtykalo created five suggestions he states must be acted on immediately, including developing a technique for reconciliation and mandatory schooling for all provincial workers on the heritage of Indigenous individuals, treaties, Indigenous rights and Indigenous legislation.

He also advisable partaking with Indigenous representatives on the 4 concepts outlined in the Route to Reconciliation Act (respect, engagement, knowledge and motion), and drawing on that engagement to acquire a training course for all general public servants on people concepts.

His past advice was that the province ensure annual stories are translated, as needed below the Route to Reconciliation Act.

If the federal government seriously would like to demonstrate it cares about reconciliation, its leadership requirements to shell out much more time listening to Indigenous individuals, said Grace Schedler, the Indigenous Ambassador for the non-gain Circles for Reconciliation.

The firm is focused on setting up trusting, meaningful associations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples by facilitating small gatherings wherever individuals can get to know just about every other. They have obtained funding from the provincial federal government.

Govt requires to pay attention: Schedler

“I will not think they are listening to the Indigenous leaders when the Indigenous leaders want to meet up with and speak about it, mainly because I know how these conferences run. They are incredibly fast simply because the ministers are hectic,” she said.

“They have their their time schedules, the chiefs have their time schedules. So when they are assembly, they are not actually discussing all the things. They are just type of touching the surface of it.”

Circles for Reconciliation founder Raymond Currie claimed it was discouraging to read through in the report that Indigenous leaders didn’t experience the govt was as engaged in reconciliation as they should have been. 

“In a sense, it is really a pretty disappointing report card for the province.”

 He added he’s inspired the present Indigenous reconciliation minister Alan Lagimodiere acknowledged in a conference with him that the government has more function to do on the file.

Premier Heather Stefanson reported Thursday afternoon she hadn’t experienced a opportunity to go through the report nevertheless, but that reconciliation is a precedence for her and that a approach will be pushed by the tips of the Indigenous group. 

“We always want to seek superior way of executing points,” she reported.