FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION — About 50 Indigenous young people will have the chance to officially respond to, and offer feedback on, a federal action plan to how Canada is adopting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Government of Canada’s 2023-2028 action plan contains over 180 measures to implement the principles of the U.N. declaration. It follows the adoption of the 2021 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which is designed to ensure Canada’s laws are consistent with the declaration. Creating an action plan, in collaboration with Indigenous nations, is one of the key pieces of that legislation.
On Friday, Feathers of Hope — a local, Indigenous youth-led not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying the voices of young people — will be holding a session at the Valhalla Hotel and Conference Centre in Thunder Bay. There, delegates will be given a detailed overview of the U.N. declaration and how it applies to them, as well as Canada’s action plan. They will also work in groups to form recommendations responses to the plan, which will be turned into a report to be submitted to the federal Department of Justice.
“This will be the first time in history that the youth have been given an opportunity to present this to the government of Canada,” said Koral Hamilton, the project manager at Feathers of Hope. “The significance is that the youth voices need to be heard and they need to be included in important decisions if we're going to uphold important documents such as the UNDRIP action plan.”
“It is inherently giving them a right to participate in self-governance and decision-making processes.”
The conference is being funded by the Department of Justice, Hamilton added, as part of its role in taking input and feedback on the plan from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people. The opportunity for youth to now participate formally is a “historic moment,” Hamilton said.
“From a youth perspective, it's very important to empower their voices and make sure that they understand that they matter,” she said. “So, when they're walking into their adult life, they know that their voices had power and it had an impact and reached the places that they needed to reach.”
“It's very important for building up the spirits of Indigenous youth.”
In total, 57 people are registered, Hamilton said; that number includes four staff facilitators.
A day full of engaging discussion would be the ideal outcome of the January 24 session, she said.
“For me, the perfect day is that the youth are engaged in the critical discussion periods that happen throughout the conference,” she said. “We're hoping that they're engaged and that we get a whole lot of opinions.”
In addition to the report Feathers of Hope will be submitting to the Department of Justice, the various presentations are also slated to be uploaded to the organization’s social media channels.
