3) Conclusion

In the seven follow-up sessions to the Canada-Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable, over 750 participants offered valuable comments on ways to change and improve the lives of Aboriginal people in Canada.

The dialogue at the follow-up sessions did not commit governments or organizations to any particular idea or direction at the policy or political level. As noted earlier, this Roll-up Report does not present a consensus of follow-up session participants or Planning Committee members. The session discussions, the seven facilitators’ reports and the Roll-up Report do not formally represent the views of any of the participating organizations.

The reports can, however, serve as reference tools for further discussions by stakeholders at all levels of Aboriginal policy and program development in Canada. In addition, the reports support ongoing planning for the next phase of the Roundtable process, including:

• the spring 2005 Policy Retreat to be attended by members of the Cabinet Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and by national Aboriginal leaders; and
• the fall 2005 First Ministers’ Meeting on Aboriginal Issues.

For Aboriginal organizations, governments and stakeholders, the Roll-up Report can help further Aboriginal policy development in each of the sectoral areas.

It is expected that participating governments and Aboriginal organizations will conduct their own analysis of the process leading to the follow-up sessions and the discussions held at these conferences. They may also prepare their own reports (outcome statements).

In addition to background papers and the facilitators’ reports directly connected to the follow-up sessions, a significant amount of other material has been developed and initiatives have been undertaken. Examples include the Inuit-specific session on the environment, as well as various forums held by national Aboriginal organizations before and after the follow-up sessions. The material can be accessed through the “What’s New” page of the Canada-Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable Web site (http://www.aboriginalroundtable.ca).

In the facilitators’ report for each follow-up session, the “overall summary” section also briefly presents similar themes examined by the three breakout groups in the session. A template for the development of this Final Roll-up Report was approved by the Planning Committee and did not require that any correlation be made between the three breakout groups. Nevertheless, all three groups in all or most of the sessions emphasized the importance of:

• developing and implementing distinctive approaches specifically for First Nations, Inuit or Métis, rather than pan-Aboriginal approaches;
• providing tangible recognition of each Aboriginal group’s treaty and land claims settlement agreement rights and jurisdictions;
• transferring control over processes, policies, programs and funding directly to Aboriginal peoples and to existing and new Aboriginal institutions; and
• encouraging and supporting the ability of all partners (First Nations, Inuit and Métis; federal, provincial and territorial governments; Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organizations and institutions) to be inclusive of all Aboriginal people regardless of their circumstances, status, gender, or geography. This included discussion of residency- and status-blind delivery approaches in urban Aboriginal settings.

As set out at the April 19 2004, Canada-Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable, the intent of the Sectoral Follow-up Sessions and the resulting independent facilitators’ reports was to explore new and innovative ideas through which the Government of Canada, national Aboriginal organizations and provincial and territorial governments can work together in order to close the quality-of-life gap between Aboriginal people and all Canadians.

Gratitude and acknowledgement is once again extended to the Elders and every individual who graciously dedicated their time, energy and enthusiasm to the Canada-Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable Sectoral Follow-up Sessions.

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The documentation contained on this website does not necessarily represent the views of any government or National Aboriginal Organization. The purpose of this website is to share information related to the Canada-Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable: background papers, Facilitator's sectoral and final reports, agendas and media announcements.

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