Essay On White Paper In Canada

In 1969, the Canadian government, proposed a White Paper which asked to revoke the terms of the Indian Act and all other treaties made between the reserves and the country. The White Paper provoked widespread opposition and was later retracted in 1971. The White Paper proposed by the government was not only unsuccessful, but further solidified the gap between the Native peoples of Canada and the rest of Canadian society. This is shown through the Canadian government following the example of the Americans, revoking the treaties that the Amerindians had signed previously, and there was no input from the Amerindians when the White Paper was being written. During the Second World War, the Canadian and American governments had worked together …show more content…
In 1879, the Indian Act was invoked to create peace in the country, which gave Amerindians a special status as Amerindians and they had land to call their own which was often land that was far from the municipalities. The White Paper proposed retracting the Indian Act and many other passed treaties in return for a land act and equal status in Canada. This would mean that instead of their Indian status and benefits, they would be subject to the same taxes as Canadians and their reserves would switch hands from the government to the tribe leaders and would soon become a municipality rather than a community. This caused tension and separation because through this White Paper, the government was trying to assimilate the Amerindian population into the rest of Canadian society by making them "equal" to citizens and they would have to give up everything they knew to be able to be considered equals in law, etc. In the book, DISCovering Multicultural America, it is stated, "the 'liberal' ideology of the White Paper had very little appeal for Aboriginal Canadians... The White Paper had also echoed the expectation dating from colonial times that aboriginal peoples would eventually be assimilated into larger Canadian