[lg policy] Alberta

[Harold Schiffman]

Justice, education and child protection targets of Alberta Liberals’
Indigenous policy platform
By Rosa Saba <https://www.thestar.com/authors.saba_rosa.html>Star Calgary
Thu., March 21, 2019

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CALGARY—Alberta Liberal Leader David Khan announced his party’s Indigenous
policy platform Thursday, promising fundamental changes to the way the
province deals with Indigenous issues in justice
<https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2018/06/19/overrepresentation-of-indigenous-people-in-canadas-prisons-persists-amid-drop-in-overall-incarceration.html>,
education, and more.

“Indigenous Albertans face systemic racism and the consequences of Canada’s
colonial past,” said Khan. “Our plan will help address these issues.”
[image: Alberta Liberal Leader David Khan talks to media at his campaign
office, with candidates Michelle Robinson and Jaro Giesbrecht behind him,
in Calgary on Thursday.]
Alberta Liberal Leader David Khan talks to media at his campaign office,
with candidates Michelle Robinson and Jaro Giesbrecht behind him, in
Calgary on Thursday.  (CHRISTINA RYAN / STAR CALGARY)

Khan presented the platform at his campaign
<https://www.thestar.com/news/alberta-election-2019.html> office in
Calgary, alongside Indigenous Liberal candidates Michelle Robinson of the
Dene nation (Calgary-East) and Jaro Giesbrecht of the Métis nation
(Calgary-Peigan). Also present were elder Sally Black of the Siksika nation
and former Alberta Liberal leader David Swann.

Some of the party’s more ambitious policy promises included the addition of
six Indigenous MLAs through a democratic election process, a reform of the
provincial justice system, and the implementation of regional child
protection offices.

Khan called the child protection offices a “bold strategy” and said they
would be run by Indigenous-led organizations. Implemented across Alberta in
both rural and urban settings, he said the offices’ mandate would be to
ensure Indigenous children stay connected to their culture and language.

He also promised Indigenous language immersion programs and curriculum
revisions led by Indigenous peoples.

The justice reform would include the use of “Aboriginal-based sentencing
principles,” said Khan, as well as an amendment of the Jury Act to “make
juries more representative
<https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/2018/05/17/lack-of-indigenous-jurors-undermines-faith-in-canadian-justice-system-experts-warn.html>
of
Alberta society.” He also promised to end police carding, a practice that
has been shown to disproportionately affect Black and Indigenous people.

“The time for rhetoric is over. The time for reconciliation is now,” he
said. “We must move beyond just apologies.”

Some of the other policy points, such as providing training for public
servants and improving school curriculums, echo NDP policies
<https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/2019/03/02/alberta-election-candidates-present-their-vision-for-the-future-of-public-education-at-all-party-forum.html>
to
which leader Rachel Notley is now pointing as proof of her party’s track
record.

However, Robinson said she thinks the Liberal version of those points will
be much more effective than she believes the NDP government has been.

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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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