Responsible Citizenship

Ever since the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report and Calls to Action in 2015 as well as listening to interviews with Commissioner Murray C. Sinclair, who has also served in the Senate of Canada as well as being the first Indigenous person to serve as judge on the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba, I have been thinking about the key action we are asking our citizenry. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission states quite clearly, and can best be summarized in the following quote:

“Together, Canadians must do more than just talk about reconciliation; we must learn how to practise reconciliation in our everyday lives—within ourselves and our families, and in our communities, governments, places of worship, schools, and workplaces. To do so constructively, Canadians must remain committed to the ongoing work of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships” (TRC, 2015, p.21).  In terms of newcomers to Canada, recommendation 94, the final call to action, states,

“We call upon the Government of Canada to replace the Oath of Citizenship with the following: I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada including Treaties with Indigenous Peoples, and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen” (TRC, 2015, p.337).

It was after a guest lecture on Indigenous peoples and their cultures to a group of newcomers in 2020 it dawned on me that what we are asking every citizen to do is demonstrate responsible citizenship in our day-today lives. As an educator, and in response to the TRC’s Calls to Action, my job is to create a learning opportunity that educates our students about what responsible citizenship means and looks like through this period of reconciliation. I contend that we are quickly seeing our society and other societies in the world at a cross-roads as we see grave mistakes of the past being repeated. In one word. it’s disrespect. Disrespect for all our relations on Mother Earth, living and non-living.

For seven years after the release of the TRC Report, sadly, we see that progress has been slow in implementing the recommendations across sectors and institutions identified as prime agents of change (Reconciliation Education, 2024; CBC, 2023). I do know that we cannot be complacent or become  distracted. The UPEI Faculty of Indigenous Knowledge, Education, Research and Applied Studies is committed to the Calls to Action, and will do its part. Yet, each of us needs to stay focused on reconciliation and responsible citizenship as a way to alter our future. What may seem isolated to Canada is not necessarily so. We must understand that ‘colonization’ and ‘colonizing’ behaviours, presenting as other ideologies and practices, are still in existence and present themselves globally. We must consider the broader need to commit to responsible global citizenship in this period of reconciliation.