Cuthand: Canadian leaders need to stop Trump’s tariff threat

Article content

In 1982 when Pierre Trudeau decided to patriate the British North American Act and develop Canada’s own Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the First Nations demanded our treaty and Aboriginal rights be enshrined in the constitution.

Article content

Article content

It was a time of intense negotiations and internal strategizing. I recall attending meetings of the National Indian Brotherhood, where we discussed our strategy and how we would work together from a common cause.

Article content

One of the discussions got to the point where some of the leaders began to doubt what they could expect to get, and the talk turned to compromise. I recall one elder stood up and lectured us.

He said that we should not compromise our position and negotiate with ourselves before the discussions with the prime minister and provincial premiers got underway. The message was one of unity and belief in your cause and, most importantly, never negotiate with yourself.

This week, we witnessed the unseemly spectacle of the premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, losing faith in her cause and breaking ranks, taking oil exports off the table as a weapon against the infamous Trump tariffs and trade bullying. She weakened the bargaining position and threw the rest of Canada under the bus.

Canadian oil exports to the United States account for 25 per cent of the American refinery throughput. In other words, one quarter of the American supply of crude oil comes from Canada. If it was cut off, it would create a shortage and prices would rise accordingly. It would look like the oil crises of the 1970s.

Article content

Article content

Trump wants to increase local manufacturing at the expense of other countries, but there is no other source of crude oil that is closer and cheaper than Canada’s. Smith played right into Trump’s hand and took the threat out of his 25 per cent tariff.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey compared oil exports to the queen on the chess board, which should be held in reserve. By taking oil off the table Smith has seriously weakened Canada’s bargaining position.

When we lobbied for our inclusion in the constitution, we relied upon our history as good Canadians volunteering in two world wars and Korea. We chose Canada when we signed treaties with the Crown.

In the late 1800s, Canada didn’t have a presence in Western Canada. The Manitoba Act created the province of Manitoba in 1870 and Treaties 1 and 2 were signed a year later, securing the border at the 40th parallel.

When the remaining numbered treaties were signed, Treaties 3 to 11, the chiefs pledged their loyalty to the Crown and the chief was given the British flag to fly above his lodge, thereby bringing the sovereignty of the Crown to the land east of the Rockies. This prevented the Americans from moving onto the western Prairies.

Article content

As First Nations, we have a stake in the country’s future. Our understanding was that we would share this land and participate in the governing institutions. We are no longer on the sidelines.

We have members in the legislatures across the country including the premier of Manitoba. We also have members of Parliament and the senate of various political stripes.

Our leaders stuck together, and we were successful in having our rights enshrined in the Canadian Constitution. It was a lot of hard work and in the end we benefited by the discussions and went on to create the Assembly of First Nations as well as restructuring the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations as a political assembly of chiefs under a convention.

Canadians not only need to defeat the Trump trade war, but we have to review our democracy and governing institutions. Already we are noticing a rise in Canadian patriotism and a growing determination that we are going to succeed and emerge with a stronger nation.

Dannielle Smith is on the wrong side of history and has thrown her lot in with a president who is the antithesis of what diplomacy and governing should be.

Doug Cuthand is the Indigenous affairs columnist for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and the Regina Leader-Post. He is a member of the Little Pine First Nation.

Our websites are your destination for up-to-the-minute Saskatchewan news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and leaderpost.com. For Regina Leader-Post newsletters click here; for Saskatoon StarPhoenix newsletters click here

Article content