Canadian Public Administration-Administration Publique Du Canada最新文献

This article argues that reclaiming Indigenous housing sovereignty requires systemic transformation rooted in Indigenous governance, not adaptations to colonial frameworks. Centering a Quw’utsun Sleni’ perspective, it introduces a relational model of housing grounded in snuw’uy’ulh (teachings), kinship and community-led decision-making. Drawing on Indigenous research paradigms and using story as method, the article critiques Western housing interventions and outlines a phased policy roadmap for Indigenous-led renewal. Emphasizing relational accountability and self-determination, this article advances a model of convergence where Indigenous governance and planning principles form the foundation for sustainable, resilient and culturally grounded Indigenous housing futures.

Several Indigenous communities and organizations are engaging in various resurgence initiatives, including those activities that restore their cultural administrative identity. The pathways to reforms are several but often follow a treaty relationship that recognizes Indigenous ways of knowing and doing. Over time, these relationships and recognitions deteriorated resulting in Indian Act approaches that deviated from longstanding traditions. Administrative reforms are instrumental to achieving complex policy aims, whether these are to encourage healing, pursue large projects, engage outside jurisdictions as equals, or promote internal processes that better align with traditional local practices. We highlight the reform activities of four communities and organizations that operate at different levels of governance to show the conditions that must be created for reform success, as well as identify endogenous and exogenous barriers to reforms. We conclude that it is in the best interests of governments to encourage administrative reform approaches because they ultimately strengthen local capabilities to advance reconciliation.

This article examines the transformative potential of ILIA (Indigenous-led Impact Assessment) to support Indigenous self-determination and protect against further erosion of Indigenous rights caused by cumulative impacts. We consider the transformative potential of ILIAs to be two-fold. First, despite variations in form, approach and strategy across Nations, all ILIA processes share a core principle—inclusion of decision-making authority for affected Nations. Therefore, ILIAs have the potential to restore a degree of Indigenous Nations' governance authority over their territories. Second, ILIAs have the potential to transform relationships between Indigenous Nations, settler-state governments and industrial project proponents, by offering a framework for shared and respectful decision-making that takes Indigenous self-determination and knowledge seriously. ILIA frameworks that include, respect and value both Indigenous and settler-Canadian knowledge and decision-making authority offer opportunities to learn and assess impacts from multiple perspectives and provide pathways for mutually beneficial partnerships.

This article introduces the miyo-wîcêhtowin Hiring Framework, an Indigenous-led, values-based model developed to transform public sector hiring practices. Grounded in Cree teachings of “building good relations,” the framework emerged from a mixed-methods analysis of over 1,500 municipal job descriptions from the City of Saskatoon. The study uncovered systemic bias across categories such as age, race, ability, language, and education, revealing how hiring language can exclude Indigenous peoples and other equity-deserving groups. Drawing on Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, discourse analysis, and human rights frameworks, the research repositions hiring as a relational and governance act—not a neutral HR function. The miyo-wîcêhtowin Hiring Framework offers practical tools and cultural principles to reimagine hiring systems grounded in respect, reciprocity, and Indigenous resurgence. It calls on public institutions to move beyond symbolic REDI commitments toward structural change by embedding Indigenous worldviews and leadership into recruitment processes, advancing equity and self-determination in Canadian public administration.

This quantitative study examines how Indigenous ways of being, particularly relational accountability, shape the governance responsibilities and compensation of First Nations chief and council members in British Columbia. Drawing on survey data from 55 participants and secondary data from 77 Nations, the study finds that elected leaders dedicate an average of 33.5 hours per week to their roles, with 38 percent of that time spent on community events and direct member engagement. This reflects the relational care and community presence embedded in Indigenous governance, contrasting with Western models that emphasize administrative efficiency. Contrary to public misconceptions of excessive compensation, the study reports average annual salaries of 88,345 dollars for chiefs and 46,013 dollars for councillors, often below provincial or federal counterparts. By introducing scalable frameworks based on per capita and revenue metrics, the research offers policy alternatives rooted in Indigenous values of service, reciprocity, and collective responsibility.

This article advances a transformational framework for public administration by challenging cognitive imperialism and centering relational accountability as a decolonial alternative. It critiques the exclusion of Indigenous knowledge systems from governance and calls for a shift from tokenistic consultation to authentic co-creation grounded in epistemological pluralism and relational ethics. Drawing on Indigenous scholarship and case studies, the article illustrates how relational approaches to co-creation foster more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable governance. It reimagines public administration as a space for Indigenous resurgence, ethical partnership, and epistemic justice rooted in mutual respect, shared authority, and long-term relational accountability.

This article examines the implementation of Bill C-92: An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families, which affirms the inherent right of Indigenous Peoples to self-govern in child and family services. Through qualitative analysis of 11 First Nations laws enacted between 2021 and 2024, the study explores how communities are developing governance structures, ratifying laws, and engaging members in law-making. Findings reveal diverse models—from Band Council-led systems to Indigenous Governing Bodies under Section 35 of the Constitution Act—with varying levels of cultural integration and transparency. Five case studies highlight approaches grounded in traditional knowledge, language revitalization, and relational governance. The article discusses tensions between delegated authority under the Indian Act and inherent rights, alongside challenges related to funding and capacity. It concludes with recommendations to strengthen Indigenous-led governance rooted in Indigenous legal traditions, languages, and community-defined child and family wellbeing.

Is Canada's federal policy paradigm related to Indigenous peoples shifting towards a distinctions-based approach? This article considers the ways in which the idea of a distinctions-based approach has taken hold in the political, policy, and institutional frameworks that govern the policy relationship between Canada and one of the three groups of constitutionally recognized Indigenous people: the Métis. By tracing the prevalence of this idea in federal policy discourse and assessing its manifestation in budget investments and policy developments, we show the promise of this paradigmatic shift for the Métis and consider some of its limitations in capturing the diversity of Indigenous lived realities. We ultimately conclude that these limitations coupled with the failure to embed the distinctions-based approach in federal legislative and institutional structures and the enduring features of Canada's settler-colonial system casts doubts on the promise of this new policy paradigm.

The modern liberal conceptualization of governance remains predominant in the field and scholarship of public administration, albeit often indirectly. Indigenous resurgence, which highlights the intrinsic significance of Indigenous governance, exposes important incongruities between liberal conceptualizations of governance and modes of governance rooted upon Indigenous worldviews of relationality. This article considers three such examples. Drawing on diverse literatures, we argue that greater critical-reflexivity is required to reorient public administration towards resurgence to allow for disciplinary transformations informed by Indigenous knowledges. In so doing, we contribute to an ongoing discussion in public administration about the importance of onto-epistemological reflection and heterodoxy.

This article examines how Indigenous language revitalization serves as a foundation for self-governance and legal resurgence, focusing on the Lil'wat Nation's efforts to reclaim Ucwalmícwts. Drawing on presentations from the 30th Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium and community-based sources, the article highlights how language encodes Lil'wat legal principles, ethical frameworks, and governance structures. Through immersion programs, curriculum development, and cultural teachings, the Nation is reasserting its jurisdiction and moving beyond Indian Act governance. Key concepts such as Ntákmen (our laws) and Nxékmen (our ways) illustrate how language revitalization is central to legislative reconciliation under Section 35 of the Constitution. Rather than translating colonial laws, Lil'wat defines governance on its own terms—grounded in language, land, and law. This case study offers a model for other Indigenous Nations: revitalizing language is not only cultural recovery—it is legal renewal and a critical pathway to Indigenous self-determination.