MAINTAINING THE ILLUSION OF DEMOCRACY: POLICY-MAKING AND ABORIGINAL EDUCATION IN CANADA, 1946-1948 1

Following the 1949 recommendations of the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons (SJC), the Canadian government shifted away from a policy of segregated to integrated schooling for Aboriginal children. This paper examines the minutes and proceedings of the SJC. Fewer than 10% of the briefs presented to the SJC called for integration indicating that government’s policy shift was less reflective of the needs of the citizens who addressed the SJC than of government ―insiders‖ who had first promoted integration in the early 1940s. Nevertheless, the SJC’s open proceedings helped government to maintain the illusion of democratic processes