What is the Governance Agreement?
The Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement is an agreement between the Anishinabek Nation, on behalf of member First Nations and Canada, that recognizes the power of the First Nations who ratify the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement to pass their own election laws, citizenship laws, language and culture laws and financial administration type laws.
Why a self-government agreement?
A self-government agreement provides the formal recognition by Canada of our inherent right to pass these types of laws otherwise, our alternative is to fight it out in court for the recognition of these types of laws. That kind of recognition is time-consuming and expensive and there is no guarantee that courts will rule in our favour on these matters. The self-government agreement also provides more funding needed to exercise these law-making powers.
What kinds of laws are recognized under the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement?
The Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement covers four areas:
- Leadership Selection (Elections)
- Citizenship
- Language and Culture
- Operation and Management of Government
First Nations who ratify the proposed Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement will have the power to enact laws on how they wish to elect their Chief and Council, how their First Nation government will operate and be managed, who their citizens will be and how they want to protect and promote the Anishinaabe language and culture. Fiscal transfers will be increased to cover the costs of these new responsibilities.
PRINTABLE ‘FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS’ INFOPOSTS
FAQ #1 Who is leading this process?
FAQ #2 What will the new government structure look like?
FAQ #3 Who will administer and distribute the funding?
FAQ #4 Protecting Aboriginal and Treaty Rights
FAQ #5 Will we have to pay taxes if we accept the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement?
FAQ #6 Citizenship benefits
FAQ #7 Citizenship, Indian Status and Identity
FAQ #8 Determining our own citizens