A/HRC/27/52/Add.2 10. Constitutionally, the federal Government is responsible for the State’s relationship with indigenous peoples, through Parliament’s jurisdiction over “Indians and lands reserved for Indians”,6 which as of April 2014 includes Métis.7 Administratively, the management of the relationship with indigenous peoples at the federal level is the responsibility of the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC). Most provinces also have ministries or departments of aboriginal affairs, which are heavily involved in issues concerning social and economic policy and natural resource use, over which the provinces have jurisdiction. 11. In relation to its commitments internationally to protect the rights of indigenous individuals and peoples, Canada is a party to the major United Nations human rights treaties and, in 2010, reversing its previous position, it endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 12. In 2008, Canada made a historic apology to former students of some Indian residential schools, in which it expressed a commitment to healing and reconciliation with indigenous peoples, and to forging a new relationship in which the Government and indigenous peoples could move forward in partnership. Some action has been taken in this regard, including the ongoing implementation of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, which was negotiated and agreed upon by former students, the churches that ran the schools, the Assembly of First Nations, other aboriginal organizations and the Government of Canada. A cornerstone of the Settlement Agreement was the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to witness the experiences of government residential school survivors, create a complete, accessible and permanent historical record of the Indian residential school system and legacy, and promote public awareness of it. The operating period of the Commission was recently extended for one year. IV. Principal human rights concerns 13. Canada undoubtedly has in place, at both the federal and provincial levels, numerous laws, policies and programmes aimed at addressing indigenous peoples’ concerns. Many of them can be pointed to as good practices, at least in their conception, such as Canada’s policy of negotiating modern treaties with aboriginal peoples and addressing their historical claims. A full exposition of those laws, policies and programmes is beyond the scope of the present report. Rather, the Special Rapporteur’s principal aim here is to highlight the ongoing human rights concerns of indigenous peoples for which improvements are required in existing government laws and policies. 14. It is difficult to reconcile Canada’s well-developed legal framework and general prosperity with the human rights problems faced by indigenous peoples in Canada, which have reached crisis proportions in many respects. Moreover, the relationship between the federal Government and indigenous peoples is strained, perhaps even more so than when the previous Special Rapporteur visited Canada in 2004, despite certain positive developments since then and the shared goal of improving conditions for indigenous peoples. 6 7 6 Constitution Act, 1867, 30 & 31 Vict, c 3, s. 91(24). See Daniels v. Canada, 2013 FC 6 (CanLII) (Federal Court) (upheld on appeal with respect to the affirmation of Métis as “Indians” on 17 April 2014).