NCIED researchers participate in McGill's Indigenous Awareness Week
On September 21, 2017, as part of McGill University’s Seventh Annual Indigenous Awareness Week, Dr. John Borrows (NCIED law faculty champion) and Dr. Hayden King led the discussion From Principles to Implementation: Indigenous Rights, the Constitution and UNDRIP in Canada.
Although the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was adopted in 2007, Dr. Borrows reported that only the federal government and the British Columbia and Alberta provincial governments claim to honour it. Borrows cautioned, as the Canadian government continues to recognize Indigenous rights through legislation like UNDRIP, citizens must have an open mind that is sensitive to politicians and activists discriminating perspectives. He continued, “It’s important to pay attention to the nuance that is presented to us and to be aware of the danger of a single source. There are opportunities and obligations to see this world and its richness and its impoverty.”