The general election for Ontarians in 2022 will take place on June 2, 2022. The provincial elections are wrapping up, and the victorious challengers are to be sworn in as the 43rd Legislature of Ontario. 

Most Indigenous communities have their own governmental structures, which might be delegitimized by voting in Canada's political system. Whether or not we engage, the Crown's fiduciary obligations to Indigenous nations remain unaffected. 

Go out and vote if you can reconcile yourself to participating in the Canadian system and feeling like you're making a difference. Nobody, not even other Indigenous people, should instruct others on what to do.

In the last election cycle, a letter written by lawyer Pam Palmater summed up her feelings about participation within the Canadian political system, “Here's a hard truth about Canadian federal elections. When Indigenous peoples vote, they vote for their next oppressor.”

While this hardline opinion is shared by many, there is a contingent of off-reserve Indigenous people that want to work within the confines of the system to introduce change, in 2018 Gaetan Baillargeon, a member of the Constance Lake First Nation was to be sworn in when he addressed the municipal clerk expressing that he would like help to amend the wording of section 4 referencing the pledge of allegiance to the Queen, which he does find in conflict with his own views of “Aboriginal people” and the Crown.

When his request was denied, he had no choice but to give up his seat. But, that was not the end of it. 

In a statement made by Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark said he was made aware of Gaetan Baillargeon's situation and instructed ministry officials to prepare an alternative oath that better reflects Indigenous peoples’ views. 

This seems like a way forward to bridge the gap between Canadian and Indigenous nationals. However, the Municipal Legislation requires that all candidates and voters be Canadian citizens which defeats the purpose of reworking the Oath of Allegiance, meeting the requirements for Indigenous nationals would mean becoming a subject and in some cases breaking traditional or customary laws.

Canadian citizens are entitled to participate in the democratic social structure by voting or running for office, regardless, of whether they have taken an oath of allegiance upon entering that office. 

Looking further into the Oath of Allegiance for a naturalized Canadian citizen, one can see the bind, you must recite the oath of citizenship, which some also view as offensive to their values. 

In an attempt to get around the required pledge of allegiance to the Queen of Canada; Bar-Natan was one of three people in 2016, who challenged and formally rescinded the Oath of Allegiance through court wherein the judge ruled the oath is not a personal allegiance, but that it is a required acceptance of how the Canadian society is in-fact structured.

So whether you stand your ground and maintain the line, however you slice it, there are many layers that show Indigenous people are used by politicians, or how hardliners work against the system and optimists work to create some iota of change. Working hard within the political machine can be a way to steer funding to needed programs in one's community, or build valued partnerships.

In order for Indigenous peoples to pick up that baton, they must in effect waive their own right to their own nationality, contrary to art 15 of the UDHR. To express any views or even vote you must deny yourself the right to exist as your own nationality, and declare that you are a legal qualifiable Canadian citizen.

Even with the Oath of Office being changed and the Oath of Allegiance being replaced, it's difficult to take it seriously when you have to swear your citizenship to fill out the candidacy forms. This, in my opinion, implies that you have given your implied consent to the way the entire democratic social framework, including the Indians act, and the opinions represented inside it.

There is a need for an overhaul some may find it beneficial to go further into the boiler room of the Canadian machine but by the looks of it those who try, get burned.