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Scaling Memory: Reparation Displacement and the Case of BC

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

Matt James
Matt James*
Affiliation:
University of Victoria
*
Matt James, Department of Political Science, University of Victoria, PO Box 3060, STN CSC, Victoria British Columbia V8W 3R4, Canada; mattjame@uvic.ca.
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Abstract

Abstract. Although many historical injustices in Canada have BC roots, the ensuing debates have tended to frame redress as a federal responsibility. The article analyzes this dynamic and calls it “reparation displacement.” Reparation displacement saves the recalcitrant community or group from fighting aggressively to avoid its unpleasant past, shunting questions of cause, blame, and obligation away instead. Reparation displacement receives special attention here as an obstacle hindering BC's reconciliation with First Nations. The article also links the emphasis in “postpositivist” policy studies on civic deliberation to the focus in the reparations literature on historical acknowledgment. It suggests further that reparation displacement requires further research from scholars of federalism and multilevel governance.

Résumé. La Colombie-Britannique est le site de plusieurs injustices commises dans l'histoire du Canada. Pourtant, les débats qui s'ensuivent tendent à concevoir la question de la réparation comme relevant de la responsabilité du gouvernement fédéral. Cet article examine cette dynamique et y réfère en tant qu'elle témoigne d'un «déplacement de la réparation». Un tel déplacement permet à la communauté ou au groupe récalcitrant d'éviter d'affronter les aspects malheureux de son histoire. Il fait dévier les questions de cause, de blâme et d'obligation hors des responsabilités de la communauté concernée. Une attention spéciale est dédiée ici à ce phénomène parce qu'il constitue un obstacle entravant le processus de réconciliation entre la Colombie-Britannique et les Premières Nations. Enfin, cet article établit un rapport entre l'emphase que mettent les études «post-positivistes» de politiques sur la délibération civique et l'importance accordée à la reconnaissance historique dans la littérature portant sur les enjeux de réparation. Il suggère, en outre, que ce phénomène de déplacement devrait faire l'objet de recherches approfondies dans les domaines d'étude du fédéralisme et de la gouvernance multipalier.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , June 2009 , pp. 363 - 386
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2009

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