In what seems like a rather quick passage of time, it has now been almost a year since Justin Trudeau was elected as Canada’s 23rd prime minister. Trudeau’s victory over Stephen Harper for the country’s leadership last October was seen as a monumental one for many Canadians. It appeared to mark a shift away from the regressive politics of the Harper administration, and towards taking more progressive measures that were guaranteed to bring about substantial positive change for both Canada and its citizens.
In his rise to power, Trudeau was determined to brand himself as both a caring figure and a voice for the people, making a multitude of promises that would prove beneficial for the country, and assuring Canadians that he would do whatever he could to follow through on them. But as Canada approaches its first year of having him in office, it is important for us to question whether or not Trudeau has been able to keep his end of the bargain so far.
Since his time in office began, Trudeau has broken 20 per cent of his promises, according to trudeaumetre.ca, a website whose purpose is to track Trudeau’s performance. Trudeau has so far been fairly successful in keeping some of his promises, including reducing tax rates for the Canadian middle class, and establishing a diverse cabinet consisting of an equal number of men and women.
But of all of the promises that Trudeau has broken thus far, the one that I find especially concerning is his promise of meaningfully addressing Indigenous peoples’ concerns. Despite launching a long-overdue inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women, the Canadian government continues to fall short on this issue.
Reconciliation has been an issue that the Trudeau administration has placed significant emphasis on, and yet it has become clear that they are not doing well in that regard. Certain actions have prompted considerable outrage among Indigenous people and pro-Indigenous advocates. For instance, Trudeau’s government has repeatedly ignored the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal’s demand to end discrimination against Indigenous children. This is necessary, as they receive less funding, and the government refuses to compensate for the displacement of 16,000 Indigenous people from their homes.
Trudeau’s public image of being caring towards Indigenous people and their suffering contrasts deeply with certain decisions made by his administration, prompting The Guardian to call the “era of reconciliation” a fallacy.
To add insult to injury, the Trudeau government recently allowed the construction of the Site C dam on unceded Indigenous land, despite claims that it will violate established treaty rights. The allowance of this construction project is especially poignant because it serves as a glaring reminder of the continuing legacy of colonialism in this country, as Indigenous people in Canada continue to have their land rights disregarded by the very government that was sworn to serve them.
In all fairness to Trudeau, he has only completed one year in office, so it would be unreasonable for us to expect him to perfectly execute his job and accomplish everything on his political agenda. However, we must recognize that many of Trudeau’s actions have acted contrary to his promises of empowering Indigenous voices and addressing Indigenous issues, which is an issue that carries huge weight in Canada and has carried huge weight in his own campaign. As such, it is our responsibility as Canadians to hold our leaders accountable when they fail to uphold their promises, especially promises that they have built much of their campaign around.
