The Living Timeline for Canada on Trial project

  • Canada becomes a nation-1867

  • Manitoba & Metis Land Scrips- 1870

    Scrip was given to Métis people living in the west in exchange for their land rights. The scrip process was legally complex and disorganized; this made it difficult for Métis people to acquire land. My rating is 0 because they have already solved it.
  • Creation of The Indian Act-1876

    The Indian Act was created to assimilate Indigenous peoples into mainstream society and terminate their cultural, social, economic, and political uniqueness. My rating is a -5 because taking away someone's culture is harmful and disrespectful to their beliefs.
  • Legislation Creating Residential Schools Passed-1884

    The government was required to provide Indigenous youth with an education and to assimilate them into Canadian society. My rating is a -5 because the schools disrupted their lives and communities, causing long term problems among Indigenous people.
  • Potlatch Ban-1885

    Legislation forbidding the practice of ceremonial dances and religious or festive ceremonies passed by the Government of Canada. If an Indian or Indians were caught participating in such activities they were punishable as an offence. My rating is a -4 because its giving up your religious freedoms and practices.
  • PH Bryce Report Suppressed-1907

    Bryce Henderson created a report on recommendations to improve the health and living conditions of Indigenous people . My rating is -5 because the report was never turned in and so residential schools continued and many Indigenous children continued to die.
  • First Nations Enfranchisement-1960

    Enfranchisement gave citizenship rights but stripped them of their Indian status. My rating is -5 because any First nations man that wanted to become enfranchised he had to reject his own language, culture and traditions and adopt Canadian ways. He would also have to leave the reserve and no longer be allowed to live there.
  • Trudeau's White Paper-1969

    The White Paper proposed to abolish all legal documents that had previously existed, including (but not limited to) the Indian Act, and all existing treaties within Canada, comprising Canadian Aboriginal law. My rating is +5 because abolishing The Indian Act was a good thing because the government had control over the aboriginal way of life: land, Indian status, education etc.
  • Red Paper-1970

    The Red Paper was a counter-proposal to the White Paper that was put forward with responses related to different proposals that the Indigenous people disagreed with. My rating is a +3 because the Red Paper tried to encourage inclusiveness and to modernize tresties.
  • Calder VS Attorney General of british Columbia-1973

    It was a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada stating that Canadian Law acknowledged aboriginal title to land prior to colonization of the continent and not derived from statutory law. My rating is a +5 because of this law the Aboriginal people have legal rights on land to be used for traditional purposes.
  • Bill C-31-1985

    This bill was used to amend the Indian Act to conform with the equality rights and gender discrimination. My rating is +3 because they it empowered women's rights it allowed bands to determine who participates in band politics and who could access band resources and property.
  • Royal commission on Aboriginal Peoples-1991

    The RCAP was mandated to investigate and propose solutions to the challenges affecting the relationship between Aboriginal peoples. My rating is a +5 because they wanted to help restore justice between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada.
  • Oka Crisis-1990

    Was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, in which the Mohawk said that the land which Oka, Que., planned to expand a golf course included a Mohawk cemetery, that was their aboriginal territory and was sacred to them . My rating is a -2 because this feud last 77 days and was left hundreds of land claims unresloved.
  • Creation of Nunavut-1999

    The Northwest Territories divided into two territories to allow for the creation of Nunavut, a homeland for Canada's Inuit. My rating is a +5 because it allowed for the natives to be in control of their own society and needs.
  • Turning Point- Residential Schools Apology

    This is when things began to change and start to move in a positive direction. The government wants to build stronger partnerships and relationships with the Indigenous community.
  • Residential Schools Apology-2008

    The separation of over 150,000 Aboriginal children from their families and communities and put into Indian Residential Schools. Their lives had been ruined by past government policies of forced child removal and Indigenous assimilation. My rating is a +5 because they apologized for taking their children and trying to assimilate them into a dominant culture by taking away their families, homes, traditions and cultures.
  • Idle No More-2013

    A grassroots movement for Indigenous sovereignty, Indigenous rights and respect for the treaties. My rating is a +3 because it created a widespread movement to protect the environment and respect Indigenous independence.
  • Truth & Reconciliation Commission-2015

    provided those directly or indirectly affected by the legacy of the Indian Residential Schools system with an opportunity to share their stories and experiences. my rating is a +5 because those who went to residential schools got to share there stories about what happened and that is a good thing
  • MMIWG Inquiry (Final Draft)-2019

    The federal government announced the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, as a key government initiative to end the disproportionally high levels of violence against Indigenous women and girls. My rating is a +5 because they want to raise awareness about the extreme high levels of violence on Indigenous women and girls and also to be inclusive of all Indigenous races such as, 2SLGBTQQIA.