GUELPH POLITICAST #152 - Paul Smith, Métis Writer and Activist

The Federal Election will soon be upon us, and part of the national conversation will focus on one specific group. For Canada's Indigenous People, are they better off now then they were four years ago? As with all things on this file, it's complicated.

As we look ahead though, it might be nice to take a moment to look behind. Way back in episode #40 of the Politicast, the featured guest was Paul Smith. A Métis writer and activist, Paul's opinions and insights have been read in the local papers here in Guelph, and on StraightGoods.com, as well as the old Beyond the Ballot Box radio show on CFRU.

Back in June 2016, Paul sat down with the Politicast to talk about the first eight months of the Trudeau government and the promise of "Sunny ways" in terms of relations with Canada's First Nations. Those "Sunny ways" though haven't been as sunny as they could have been though, and the news shows every day the overwhelming breadth of issues facing Indigenous communities.

Still, Paul seems hopeful. Perhaps it's unrealistic to expect the ship to be turned around 180 degrees in just four short years, but that doesn't mean that things aren't getting better for First Nations people. At least, that's the perspective from this week's guest. 

So on this edition of the podcast, we'll expand on that. We'll talk about the effect of the Trudeau government on Indigenous affairs, whether awareness counts as victory, and what the victories and challenges of Indigenous peoples in other parts of North and South America mean for Canada's First Nations.

We also talk about the ups and downs of the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and the surprising answer that Paul has as to what the Conservative Party stand on Indigenous issues should be during the campaign to come.

So let's talk about the current state of Indigenous Affairs on this week's Guelph Politicast!

Stay tuned, because Indigenous issues will likely be a frequently discussed topic of conversation in the 2019 Federal Election.

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