Lecture Notes: Canadian State Institutions, MAID Debate, and Indigenous History
Discussion on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)
Central Question: Should the state allow individuals to end their lives, and should the state provide services and resources to make this possible? This question specifically addresses cases of unbearable and irreversible mental illness, such as depression, where all medical interventions have been exhausted.
Ethan's Perspective: * Acknowledges current exists of MAID for debilitating physical conditions like ALS or dementia. * Expresses the difficulty of forcing someone to live if they have tried every resource (clinics, housing, rehab) and find no enjoyment, but also questions the rightness of allowing them to die. * Suggests there might be a distinction between mental health and late-life neurological diseases, but admits there is no perfect answer.
Xavier's Perspective: * Views the request for MAID as a symptom of broader systematic issues. * Questions what it says about the healthcare, mental health, and housing systems if people feel they cannot get proper care or are unhoused to the point of wanting to end their lives.
Alex's Perspective: * Questions whether the state currently bans suicide. * The Instructor's Clarification: In Toronto/Ontario, the Mental Health Act allows authorities to detain someone wanting to end their life to deter them. The state has an obligation to stop individuals from taking their own lives. * Alex concludes that while the state shouldn't encourage it, detaining or jailing a person who is repetitively suffering might just prolong that suffering.
Esretta's Perspective: * Highlights the difference between physical chronic illness and mental illness, specifically regarding "stability" and "autonomous decision-making." * Points to resource limitations: therapy is not free and requires insurance or employment, despite universal health care. * Cites scientific studies: MRI scans of people with depression show smaller hippocampuses, which can skew judgment and make decision-making harder. * Asks if the system should invest more in socioeconomic solutions and better mental health resources rather than allowing euthanasia.
John's Perspective: * Supports the state's role in allowing and assisting the decision. * Compares the choice to wearing a seatbelt; individuals should have autonomous control over choices regarding themselves.
Azia's Perspective: * Concerned that a "painless exit" could stifle medical innovation by reducing the financial and societal pressure to solve these mental health conditions.
Lescia's Perspective: * Supports the right to a "dignified way" to die. * Argues that people will find their own means anyway, so it is better they depart with family and self-respect.
Ayesha's Perspective: * Notes that if the state helps people die, it should be justified, particularly regarding organ donation policies in Canada.
Eugen's Perspective: * Expresses concern over state-supported "painless deaths" regarding the high costs and potential family pressure. * Questions if there is ever "full-on autonomy" when external pressures (cost, family) might influence the choice.
Mustafa's Perspective: * Does not believe the state should authorize taking a life, as constitutional laws are designed to protect life. * Suggests making support more accessible and at the patient's own pace, rather than legalizing death.
Thomas's Perspective: * Argues the state has a fundamental duty to protect citizens even from themselves. * Believes allowing MAID makes a dangerous statement: that "suffering makes life not worth living."
Amber's Perspective: * Refers to the book A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide. * Excerpt Summary: A society that kills some but protects others cannot claim equality. When the state says "yes" to a patient's request for death, it affirms that the patient's life is no longer worth living, which discriminates against others in similar circumstances.
Institutional Underpinnings of the Canadian State and Settler Colonialism
Definition of Settler Colonialism: A system that attempts to displace a long-standing indigenous population with a new settler population (specifically from Europe in the Canadian context). * Primary Objective: To acquire and secure land. * Sovereignty: Imposed by an outside force on the people already there. * Distinction from "Classic" Colonialism: Classic colonialism focuses on the extraction of resources and people; settler colonialism focuses on settling and land displacement. * Nature: It is an ongoing project, not a historical episode.
Indigenous Presence: * Indigenous nations have been in North America since "time immemorial." * Scientific arrival estimates: 14,000\,BCE via the Bering Strait. * Societies developed complex cultures, governance, trade, and diplomacy long before European contact. * Local Groups near U of T: The Huron Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit.
European Contact Timeline: * Norse/Vikings: Arrived in Newfoundland (L'Anse aux Meadows) around $1,000\,CE$; did not establish permanent settlement. * John Cabot: An Italian employed by the English crown; arrived in Newfoundland in $1497\,CE$. * Jacques Cartier: Landed in Eastern Quebec in $1534\,CE$ and claimed it for the French crown. * Initial Interactions: Characterized by mutual respect and indigenous assistance. Without indigenous knowledge of food and warmth, Europeans would not have survived the climate. * The "Twelve Days" Metaphor: If the history of human presence in Canada were a calendar year, Europeans have only been present for roughly $12$ days (less than $3\%$ of the total timeline).
The Legal Justification of Colonization
Sovereignty: The authority of a state to govern itself and maintain order. The Canadian state claims sovereignty over land held by indigenous people for thousands of years.
Terra Nullius: "Land of no one" or "empty land." The racist belief that the land was vacant or lacked a master, justifying European claims.
Doctrine of Discovery: Authorized by the Holy See (the Pope). It allowed Christians to claim non-Christian land and subjugate the inhabitants.
Underlying Bias: Based on the perceived superiority of European civilization and the Christian faith.
British and French Rivalry
Battle of the Plains of Abraham ($1759\,CE$): The English defeated the French and captured Quebec City.
Treaty of Paris ($1763\,CE$): Ended the Seven Years' War. Britain took control of French North American territories.
French Remnants: France kept only the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off the coast of Newfoundland.
Incomplete Conquest: A term by Peter Russell suggesting that although the British conquered the French politically, the French demographic (Catholic, French-speaking, separate legal system) remained and influenced the state's development.
Foundations of the Canadian State: Treaties and Acts
Royal Proclamation of $1763\,CE$: * Recognized indigenous land rights and created a "reserve" territory. * Stipulated that only the colonial authority could negotiate with indigenous people for land; future expansion required treaty-making. * Aimed to assimilate the French by imposing British institutions and excluding Catholics from public life.
Treaty of Niagara ($1764\,CE$): * John Borrows' Perspective: This was the indigenous ratification of the Royal Proclamation. It represented mutual recognition of sovereignty rather than submission. * Wampum Belts: Used to codify agreements. The Two-Row Wampum symbolizes indigenous and non-indigenous people traveling parallel but separate paths.
The Quebec Act ($1774\,CE$): * An attempt to maintain order by accommodating the French population. * Restored French civil law and the Seigneurial system. * Tolerated the Catholic faith and created a Quebec assembly for political participation.
The Constitutional Act ($1791\,CE$): * Divided the territory into Upper Canada (English-speaking, Protestant) and Lower Canada (French-speaking, Catholic). * Representative Government: Introduced locally elected assemblies, but the executive was not bound by their advice.
The Balford declaration, Canada gains autonomy, British distances themselves in the direct way, increased authorutiy for settler states, its more costly for them to involved in the settler colonial states
The Balfour Declaration ($1926$):
Marked a significant step towards the autonomy of dominions, recognizing their legislative independence.
Allowed Canada to gain greater control over its domestic and foreign affairs, while still acknowledging the British Crown.
Signified a shift in British colonial policy, emphasizing the costliness of maintaining direct control over settler states.
Governor general and royal assent exist, but by convention—they still follow the advice of priminister, as opposed to objections from the British crown, the crown’s precence exists
The place of the crown:
Out of sight and out of mind, how things function within governence like other common wealth countries, its a part of the governmental machinery, not enough people pay attention to it to draw attention to it’s prescence
In the present moment its there, and has a function, but it functions as a means of the unwritten conventions, governer general does sign off on laws and call for elections and exist as a legacy, but arent a direct intervention
The crown in Canada, technically is the crown of canada, the same people same seat, king of canada technically
Governance and legislative bodies have since evolved and the evolution of governance, new
The Struggle for Responsible Government
War of $1812\,CE$: British and indigenous allies (notably Tecumseh) fought the Americans to stop U.S. expansion.
Rebellions of $1837\,CE$ and $1838\,CE$: Caused by frustration with entrenched elites ("Family Compact" in Upper Canada and "Chateau Clique" in Lower Canada).
Lord Durham's Report: * Durham observed "two nations warring in the bosom of a single state." * Proposed merging Upper and Lower Canada and introducing Responsible Government (where the executive is responsible to the elected assembly, not the crown). * Viewed the French as a people "with no history and no culture" who needed to be assimilated into the English identity.
Act of Union ($1841\,CE$): Created the Province of Canada. It initially removed French institutions (later restored) and established a "double majority" convention for legislation.
Confederation to Independence
Confederation ($1867\,CE$): * Drivers: Fear of "Manifest Destiny" (U.S. expansion), the Fenian raids, the end of free trade with the U.S., and political deadlock within the Province of Canada. * Demographics: $3,400,000$ total population ($1,000,000$ French, $100,000$ Indigenous). * Delegates: $33$ white males (only $4$ were French; $0$ were Indigenous). * Constitution Act $1867$: Established a Westminster system with a House of Commons (elected) and a Senate (appointed as an elite check on the "common folk"). * Federalism: Divided powers between Section (Federal) and Section (Provincial).
Evolution of Sovereignty: * Balfour Report ($1926\,CE$): Stated all Dominions were equal to the UK. * Statute of Westminster ($1931\,CE$): Granted full autonomy. * Apex Court: The Supreme Court of Canada did not become the highest court until ; prior to that, cases went to the Privy Council in London. * Patriation ($1982\,CE$): The UK parliament officially lost the power to legislate for Canada.
Treatment of Indigenous Peoples
The Indian Act ($1876\,CE$): * The state assumed control over every aspect of indigenous life, moving away from "fiduciary duty" (the obligation to act in their best interest). * Imposed European governance structures and banned cultural ceremonies/languages.
Residential Schools: * State-funded, religiously run schools aimed at "killing the Indian in the child." * Resulted in cultural genocide, widespread abuse, and thousands of deaths (many discovered in recently identified graves).
Modern Consequences: * Indigenous people face disproportionate rates of incarceration, poverty, and health issues. * Dependency on high-cost, unhealthy physiological food imports in northern areas due to the loss of traditional land/ways.
Class Announcements
Tutorials begin next week; TAs will send Zoom links by today.
Assignment due next week: Maximum of original words.
Textbook is required; students can find it online as they choose.
Office hours held for personal questions.