Citizens Plus: Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian State (Brenda and David McLean Canadian Studies)

In Citizens Plus, Alan Cairns unravels the historical record to clarify the current impasse in negotiations between Aboriginal peoples and the state. He considers the assimilationist policy assumptions of the imperial era, examines more recent government initiatives, and analyzes the emergence of the nation-to-nation paradigm given massive support by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Citizens Plus stakes out a middle ground with its support for constitutional and institutional arrangements that will simultaneously recognize Aboriginal difference and reinforce common citizenship.