What was the Penner Report of 1983?

The Penner Report was the federal Special Committee on Indian Self-Government's report tabled on November 21, 1983 by Liberal MP Keith Penner. The Report recommended recognising First Nations as a distinct order of government in Canada and entrenching the inherent right of Indigenous self-government in the Constitution. The Penner Report's framework shaped subsequent self-government policy debates, including the 1992 Charlottetown Accord, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1991 to 1996), and the federal Inherent Right Policy of 1995. The Report was the first Parliamentary endorsement of Indigenous self-government as inherent rather than delegated.

The Special Committee was established by the Pierre Trudeau federal Liberal government in December 1982, partly in response to constitutional pressure from Indigenous groups during the 1980 to 1982 patriation process. The Committee was chaired by Liberal MP Keith Penner (Cochrane-Superior, Ontario) and included members from all parties. The Committee held 70 days of hearings, met with about 150 First Nations and Indigenous organisations, and visited communities across Canada.

The Report's principal recommendations included: the federal government should formally acknowledge that 'First Nations have a unique constitutional status' and that they 'constitute an order of government' independent of federal and provincial governments; an entrenched constitutional amendment recognising the inherent right of self-government; elimination of the Indian Act in favour of First Nations Recognition Acts; recognition of First Nations' jurisdiction over education, social services, lands and resources, and other matters; establishment of First Nations financial agreements; transfer of Indian Affairs Department functions to First Nations; and Aboriginal-rights training for federal officials.

Federal response was initially limited. The Trudeau Liberal government accepted some Penner Report recommendations in principle but did not implement them. The 1984 Federal Election brought Brian Mulroney's Conservatives to power, with different priorities. Mulroney's government did pass the Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act of June 17, 1986 (implementing some Penner Report ideas in a band-specific framework) and pursued constitutional recognition of inherent self-government in the 1987 Meech Lake Accord and the 1992 Charlottetown Accord (both of which failed). The 1995 federal Inherent Right Policy of the Chrétien government adopted much of the Penner Report's framework, recognising the inherent right of self-government as an existing right under section 35. The Penner Report is now widely regarded as having shaped the conceptual framework of modern federal-Indigenous self-government policy, even though its specific constitutional recommendations were not adopted.