Globalization and Self-Government: Impacts and Implications for First Nations in Canada

Abstract

While Canada has moved beyond its colonial relationship with Great Britain, many argue that Aboriginal peoples in Canada continue to be entrenched in colonialism. In recent years, self-government negotiations have been initiated to redress this paradox. Problematic, however, is the fact that these negotiations are taking place in a socioeconomic environment that is being transformed by globalization. In this era of globalization, in which corporations assume a more dominant role in all spheres of life, the Canadian government is involved in a process of significant restructuring driven by a neoliberal agenda. In accordance with this vision of a minimalist state and unfettered market-driven development, self-government is being promoted as a means for political autonomy as well as for economic development in Aboriginal communities--all considered critical elements of decolonization. Through the process of devolution, the state is, arguably, promoting self-governance as a means to enhance the opportunity of A boriginal peoples to enter the market society and liberate them from traditional colonial constraints. But what are the implications for self-government arrangements constructed within this framework? This paper argues that self-government negotiated within the parameters of globalization, under the auspices of corporate dominance, does not represent decolonization but neocolonialism. Focussing on the condition of resource-rich Aboriginal communities within Canada, this paper considers why some First Nations appear to embrace self-government as a means of political autonomy and the partnering of their communities with corporations as a form of economic independence. It concludes by considering some potential consequences of globalization for First Nations. These conclusions envision the possibility of increased social pathologies for Aboriginal peoples if social-service needs are not met; the division of communities internally as they struggle to survive in a capitalist while maintaining their traditi onal values; conflict between First Nations and other Canadians as they struggle to gain access to resources; and the intensification of Aboriginal nationalism generally. This paper is not a critique of self-government, per se, but rather of the way it is being conceptualized and constructed, since it locks Aboriginal peoples in an unequal relationship as they pass from government paternalism to corporate dependency. As government yields to corporate pressures, it similarly subsumes the welfare of Aboriginal peoples to the demands of the market. Thus self-government today further subjects First Nations to corporate rule and solidifies their assimilation. Globalization Defined Critical to understanding the self-government process is the context in which it is occurring. In essence, self-government today is being implemented under the auspices of globalization. Globalization has become a common term in corporate and political circles with a variety of meanings ranging from descriptions of contemporary economic to political or even social phenomena and, for some, it is a dangerous euphemism for the current restructuring of international capitalism (Klak 1998,3). It moves on a parallel track with other such euphemisms: the information society, late capitalism, postmodernity, the end of history, the end of state sovereignty, and the end of democracy. My understanding of the term draws on Robert Cox's observation that the characteristics of the globalization trend include the internationalizing of production, the new international division of labor, new migratory movements from South to North, the new competitive environment that accelerates these processes, and the internationalizing of the state... making states into agencies of the globalizing world (Scholte 1997,21). Hence, the term implies economic change accompanied by political change. While most of the rhetoric associated with globalization privileges its economic component, I agree with Joachim Hirsch that globalization should not be exclusively seen as an adherence to an economic 'logic' or some sort of natural tendency of a market economy. …