Lastly, as a result of confronting the issues surrounding voting rights, I would like to discuss Aboriginal electoral participation in Canada to represent the impact these organizations confrontations have had on Indigenous communities. It is no surprise that voter turnout among Aboriginal Canadians is lower than among non-Aboriginal Canadians. Upon researching surveys conducted with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal electors following the last four Canadian federal elections there are reasons for the gap in turnout. Aboriginals who live on First Nations reserves tend to vote less than those who reside off reserves. There are many factors that affect voting turn out for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians such as rural vs. urban, our government,
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There were numerous examples as well as peer-reviewed scholarly articles that support my claim and represent the impact these changes have had on Indigenous communities, particularly the communities of the people addressing these issues. Firstly, I discussed the Corbiere case and the issue they were arguing which was that Section 77(1) of the Indian Act is discriminatory which is counterintuitive to Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Corbiere case was powerful to Indigenous communities as the Supreme Court of Canada established a new analogous ground of discrimination to those listed in Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Secondly, I discussed the landmark change in 1960 that allowed Indigenous peoples to vote in a federal election without forfeiting their status. This change was brought forward by Prime Minister Diefenbaker who continued to be impartial for Indigenous people when he elected the first Aboriginal Senator and subsequently elected an Aboriginal to the House of Commons. I believe this change to be influential to Indigenous communities as they were treated as other Canadians were treated in that they could vote in the federal election as well as be elected as a member of Parliament. Lastly, I discussed the statistics surrounding Aboriginal electoral participation which represented the impact of the changes I discussed above. The statistics show that while the percentage of non-Aboriginal voters vs. Aboriginal voters is relatively low, the factors affecting these numbers are similarly the same factors that affect whether or not a non-Aboriginal
There were numerous examples as well as peer-reviewed scholarly articles that support my claim and represent the impact these changes have had on Indigenous communities, particularly the communities of the people addressing these issues. Firstly, I discussed the Corbiere case and the issue they were arguing which was that Section 77(1) of the Indian Act is discriminatory which is counterintuitive to Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Corbiere case was powerful to Indigenous communities as the Supreme Court of Canada established a new analogous ground of discrimination to those listed in Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Secondly, I discussed the landmark change in 1960 that allowed Indigenous peoples to vote in a federal election without forfeiting their status. This change was brought forward by Prime Minister Diefenbaker who continued to be impartial for Indigenous people when he elected the first Aboriginal Senator and subsequently elected an Aboriginal to the House of Commons. I believe this change to be influential to Indigenous communities as they were treated as other Canadians were treated in that they could vote in the federal election as well as be elected as a member of Parliament. Lastly, I discussed the statistics surrounding Aboriginal electoral participation which represented the impact of the changes I discussed above. The statistics show that while the percentage of non-Aboriginal voters vs. Aboriginal voters is relatively low, the factors affecting these numbers are similarly the same factors that affect whether or not a non-Aboriginal