Public Space, Colonialism,

In the fall of 2001, British Columbia s newly-elected§Liberal government organized a series of public§hearings to collect citizen input on the§principles that should guide treaty negotiation. §These hearings were established to renew the§stalled treaty process in B.C., which had failed to§yield any modern treaties in the province. §However, rather than providing space for meaningful§engagement with the issue of Indigenous land claims§in B.C., the public hearings reiterated colonial§exclusions. In this discourse analysis, the process§of public democracy is deconstructed to§emphasize the multiple ways through which the§government and numerous presenters reiterated the§colonial status quo. The reiteration of colonial§principles was enabled through common-sense appeals§to liberal democratic principles, such as freedom,§equality, individualism, and a reduced role for the§state. This critical analysis will be of interest to§scholars and students working in the areas of§Canadian Studies, Indigenous Studies, Political§Science, and Sociology, along with anyone seeking a§comprehensive understanding of persisting colonial§practices in contemporary Canada.