What's the Problem with Treaties: The Harper Government Commitment?

It's difficult to say how much a single Cabinet Minister can influence the Harper Government, since the Prime Minister, in practice, is primus inter pares or 'first among equals'. It is even more difficult to say if Minister Duncan supports First Nations, let alone treaties. It is reported here that the Chief Commissioner of the BC Treaty Commission has called on the federal government to re-commit to the BC Treaty process, but was the Harper Government ever committed?

Before John Duncan was appointed Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada, his track record with First Nations in BC was less than collegial. It is reported here that Duncan,

"...has established a record of words and deeds over the last thirty years, as a forester and parliamentarian, that amount to a crusade against Indigenous peoples—stoking flames of racial bigotry, attacking constitutionally-protected aboriginal rights, and advocating for their assimilation and permanent status as impoverished, second-class citizens in Canada." 

Many questions remain. Is Minister Duncan responsible for re-committing the federal government to the BC Treaty Process; or is it the Prime Minister calling the shots. Is the call to shut down the BC Treaty Process music to the Ministers' ears; or, is the Harper Government ready to re-commit?

Growing international pressure, and the Cohen inquiry don't leave much opportunity for the federal government to commit or re-commit to the BC Treaty process. Look for advances at the In-SHUCK-ch negotiating table for signs of life in the BC Treaty process.

Is the Harper Government the Problem?

Minister Polak and Chief Commissioner Sophie Pierre, point to the Harper Government for wasting time and money:

Mary Polak, B.C.'s minister of aboriginal relations, said Ottawa's long delay in moving the Tla'amin treaty forward is one of the holdups recently criticized by the B.C. Treaty Commission. Chief Commissioner Sophie Pierre said earlier this month that if federal negotiators aren't given enough authority to reach agreements... governments should consider winding up a process that is nearly 20 years along with more than a billion dollars spent on negotiations alone [full story here].

Can Minister Duncan turn it around, or is the Harper Government committed to wasting time and money? Is Minister Polak deflecting to shield her government from part of the blame?